Battle Beast | Steel

by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer –

And just when you thought major labels no longer invest on newcomer acts, comes Battle Beast. The plainly titled Steel is their debut album, issued by Nuclear Blast in an attempt to increase their slice of the pie labeled as New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal.

Battle Beast are a female-fronted metal group from Finland and though this kind of profile might sound all too familiar, Battle Beast, as mentioned above, sound nothing like the average Scandinavian female fronted band. At the same time, however it is important to note that Steel is not quite the stereotypical traditional metal release either.

The best way one finds to describe their music is a mixture of Lordi and Dream Evil; Battle Beast combine the commercial elements of the former (keyboards, melodic guitar lines, straightforward songwriting) with the attack of the latter (up-front rhythm section, high pitched vocals, and extensive shredding solos).

Clearly, the protagonist instrument on Steel is the guitar and obviously the lead vocals; Nitte Valo is capable of carrying the vocal melodies at the top of her range, yet her vibrato might come out as rather funny, depending on the listener’s taste and orientation. At the same time one can not fail to give credit to the guitar partnership of Anton Kabanen and Jusso Soinio who deliver on every song, making each guitar solo a musical piece at its own right. The rhythm section of Eero Sipila and Pyry Vikki drives the main body of the song though but the performance is nothing out of the ordinary. Also very significant is the contribution of their keyboardist Janne Bjorkroth who dressed the songs with orchestral arrangements which reinforces the depth of the overall composition and performance.

Moving to the lyrical concept, well, between the cover artwork and the song titles you already have a pretty accurate picture of Battle Beast’s direction; “Enter the Metal World”, “Justice and Metal,” “Steel,” “Victory,” “Stay Black” and the single “Show Me How to Die” say just about everything regarding this newcomer band. Yes, Steel lies at the heart of Metal cliché and can grow a bit tiring after consecutive plays, obviously not due to its technical aspects (the songs are very well arranged after all) but because of the repetition of certain motto’s and words.

For fans of traditional heavy metal enjoying the current resurgence of the genre, Battle Beast is bound to give them another reason to smile this month. Steel is classic sounding heavy metal with no shame but with great production that should probably reach all international metal communities.

Genre: Heavy, Epic Metal

Line Up:
Nitte Valo – Vocals
Anton Kabanen – Guitar, Vocals
Pyry Vikki – Drums
Juuso Soinio – Guitar
Eero Sipila – Bass, Vocals
Janne Bjorkroth – Keyboards, Vocals

Track Listing:
01. Enter The Metal World
02. Armageddon Clan
03. The Band Of The Hawk
04. Justice And Metal
05. Steel
06. Die-Hard Warrior
07. Cyberspace
08. Show Me How To Die
09. Savage And Saint
10. Iron Hand
11. Victory

Band Website: http://www.hypeproductions.fi/battlebeast/

Label: Nuclear Blast

Hardrock haven rating: 7.5/10

HammerFall : Infected

 

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Weird. To hear the opening track “Patient Zero” on HammerFall’s new release, Infected, is just plain weird. Known for being one of the most galloping and triumphant composers in all of Power Metal, this somewhat new direction will take longtime fans by surprise. And why the new logo? Not that metal fans are control freaks, but knowing you can “count” on something — like your favorite band not turning their logo from a sword into a scab — is not the same as wanting to control it. All that weirdness aside, it’s HammerFall, and Infected is still going to end up being a success … maybe even in spite of themselves.

A female voice opens the album on “Patient Zero,” with sirens wailing in the background, as she says “Contamination breach in sector 7G. Evacuation protocols for Project Legion in effect. Emergency shutdown in five seconds.” Instead of spirited riffs and soaring vocals, you get a near Candlemass dirge, a doomy, mid-tempo construction with Joacim Cans singing with his fathomless talent but at a much more metered and measured pace. While it’s a great track … it’s nearly uncomfortable as you wait for them to double or triple the speed. And they don’t, not here, not yet. Obviously, there’s a bit of a concept here, with Patient Zero being infected with Project Legion, meaning, there’s a lot more than one person/soul/being inside the body. Still …

HammerFall had little choice but to get back on track with the second song, or risk losing people. “Bang Your Head” is probably how most people expected the album to begin. Here, you’ll get tempo changes and those insane vocal melodies so germane to HammerFall’s legacy. Of course, Dronjak’s solo is as vivid and effortless as expected, and everything new is old again.

“The Outlaw” is a chaotic and cool barnburner. The riffs are complicated, and Anders Johansson’s drumming is a marvel. It’s mostly unfair how much talent this band wields in every facet. While the music is intense and interesting, the lyrics and the way the vocals are delivered don’t measure up; were they trying not to let the vocals get in the way of the musical mastery? Or is this just an uninspired lyrical and vocal moment?

Again, just when you start questioning the band, they come at you with the majestic and heartfelt “Send Me a Sign.” Maybe HammerFall is just so damn good they have finally started screwing with their fans — as in, expect the unexpected, metalheads. With deft acoustic picking, haunting and masterful vocals from Cans, “Send Me a Sign” blazes near the end and then fades to an acoustic end. Not weird.

Getting back to the Patient Zero theme, the uplifting “666 – The Enemy Within” is one of the highlights of the entire release. With a more reminiscent song structure, the tale speaks of a man awakening to a bloody trail, spouting poetry like “There’s an echo in the mirror, of a man I do not know, staring back at the scar on my neck, and the numbers are screaming … 666!” The entire song crescendos near the close, changing pace and becoming both glorious and vile all at the same time.

Whether this is a concept record or really an album with a running theme (you say potato, they say potato gun), the narrative from “Immortalized” to ”Lets Get It On” to “Redemption” is the album’s denouement. In the keyboard-crazy “Redemption,” you will experience sorrow-laden musical passages, metallic orchestration and overall, it’s a madly fitting way to close the pages of Infected.

In fairness, you can’t expect HammerFall NOT to grow as musicians, even though historically they’ve shown little interest in doing so. Wake up call — they are interested now. Infected is darker, more intense and perhaps more thematic than anything they’ve ever composed. That means little if it isn’t a good album, but it is. Whether this is a one-time “off the beaten path” journey or an indication of what lies ahead, HammerFall is still a force, albeit a weird one this time around.

Band:
Joacim Cans – Vocals
Oscar Dronjak – Guitar
Anders Johansson – Drums
Fredrik Larsson – Bass
Pontus Norgren – Guitar

Tracklist
1. Patient Zero
2. Bang Your Head
3. One More Time
4. The Outlaw
5. Send Me A Sign
6. Dia De Los Muertos
7. I Refuse
8. 666 – The Enemy Within
9. Immortalized
10. Let’s Get It On
11. Redemption

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Online: http://www.hammerfall.net/  

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.7/10

Korpiklaani Ukon Wacka

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer

It’s hard to believe that the members of Korpikaani have been gracing us with their brand of Finnish polka-metal for over 10 years now (counting the Shaman days, of course). Time flies when you’re wasted and having fun. Maintaining a release schedule reminiscent of the ’80s metal days (really, how many bands actually put albums out almost every year anymore?), Ukon Wacka serves as the forest tribe’s 7th full length, and helps cement their reign as one of the top polka-metal bands on the scene.

While Ukon Wacka is far from a stylistic departure for Korpiklaani, it packs enough punch and originality to break the somewhat “been there heard that” sound that the last couple albums carried. Perhaps the unusual two-year break from 2009’s Karkelo gave the band some time to refine their songs and escape the monotony.

While there truly isn’t a throwaway track on the album, there are a couple of standout highlights. Opener “Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika” mixes in an almost country feel to the usual Korp fair, and features and excellent fiddle solo. The rapid fire vocals, sung in Finnish (as if that wasn’t clear from the title), sound great, but ensure most non-Finns will stand nary a chance of actually learning the words.

“Tuoppi Oltta” boasts a flute solo that far outdoes Helloween’s recent flute experiment (see “Raise the Noise” from 7 Sinners) and proves that flutes aren’t exclusively made cool by Ian Anderson. On that note, how cool would a Korpiklaani/Jethro Tull crossover be? “Songs From the Wood” + the Forest Tribe = the greatest medieval rock/metal ever.

“Tequila” stands out as the most interesting track here, blending Latin rhythms with the Finnish polka and creating an even more bizarre—yet extremely effective—party metal hybrid. It seems there would be a huge number of fanbases this might appeal to, but then again, maybe the mix is too much for most people.

Title track “Ukon Wacka” slows things down a bit, with vocals that invoke images of Korpiklaani’s cover-art mascot traipsing through the forest singing of his surroundings. He seems to act as some sort of heavy metal Yoda, providing guidance and insight to his bretheren. Perhaps he will one day become the “Eddie” of folk metal.

Ukon Wacka only features a single instrumental, the fast-paced “Vaarinpolkka.” Lead by Juho Kauppinen’s accordion, the song is as close to a dictionary definition of polka metal as one will likely get.

So to reiterate, Ukon Wacka may not be a breakthrough record for the genre it falls into, or for metal in general; Korpiklaani already carved that niche years ago. For a band churning records out at the frequency Korpiklaani does, though, it is still an excellent piece of danceable metal. Like it or not, this is full-on party metal, and should be treated as such. Does it border on the cheesy at times? Sure, but every metal band tends to do that at some point. What makes Korpiklaani so great is that they embrace it and deliver.

Genre: Polka Metal

Band:
Jonne Järvelä (vocals, guitar)
Jaakko “Hittavainen” Lemmetty (violin, jouhikko and woodwinds)
Kalle “Cane” Savijärvi (guitar)
Matti “Matson” Johansson (drums)
Jarkko Aaltonen (bass)
Juho Kauppinen (accordion)

Track listing:
1. Louhen Yhdeksäs Poika
2. Päät Pois Tai Hirteen
3. Tuoppi Oltta
4. Lonkkaluut
5. Tequila
6. Ukon Wacka
7. Korvesta Liha
8. Koivu Ja Tähti
9. Vaarinpolkka
10. Surma

Label: Nuclear Blast

Website: www.korpiklaani.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.9/10

Amorphis Magic and Mayhem – Tales from the Early Years

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

There has been a noticeable trend in recent years for established bands, especially when there is a significant lineup change, to rerecord their older material with the new lineup. In most cases, these rerecordings are totally unnecessary. The adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind. Sometimes though, the rerecordings show the old songs in a totally new light (Anacrusis did this particularly well with their Hindsight collection). Now Finnish progressive death metal band Amorphis is giving it a try with their new collection Magic & Mayhem – Tales From the Early Years. Now that vocalist Tomi Joutsen has a few albums under his belt, and Amorphis has built a new sound around his distinctive vocals, it makes sense for them to revisit some of their earliest recordings.

If you’ve heard any of Amorphis’s recent albums, you know that Joutsen is an impressive clean vocalist, but excels at the death metal growls. If you’ve caught them live, you know that he absolutely nails the older songs like “Black Winter Day.” Hearing the band take on the heavier, more purely death metal songs from The Karelian Isthmus and Tales From the Thousand Lakes is a revelation. It’s been nearly two decades since the band’s earliest recordings, so obviously they’re a lot better at what they do, plus they’ve developed a unique sound over the years. Hearing that combination of talent and progress (plus of course Joutsen’s monstrous growls) lends a more elegant brutality to songs like “Vulgar Necrolatry” and “Magic & Mayhem,” and is almost like hearing the songs for the first time. The pre-Elegy songs should be more than enough to convince the skeptics, and are well worth the price of admission.

Then there are the songs from Elegy. Elegy was the album where Amorphis brought in clean vocalist Pasi Koskinen and moved dramatically in a more progressive direction. Elegy is considered by many to be the band’s best album and an essential metal release. It’s as close to an untouchable release as you’re likely to find, and tinkering with these classic songs is risky. The band did a decent enough job with them, but didn’t really add anything the way they did with the earlier material. They’re not bad, and they do grow on you, but they’re not on par with the original versions.

The only real blunder on Magic & Mayhem is revisiting the Doors’ classic “Light My Fire.” Covering that song was a mistake the first time around, and is just as dreadful all these years later. Making it through that stinker a second time around takes a supreme effort of will.

Old school Amorphis fans may cringe at some of these rerecordings, but for the most part the songs on Magic & Mayhem are very well done, and provide an interesting new perspective on some classic metal songs. Fans of the later Amorphis albums should definitely enjoy hearing the new lineup revisit the classic material.

Genre: Death Metal, Progressive Metal

Band:
Tomi Joutsen (v)
Esa Holopainen (g)
Tomi Koivusaari (g)
Santeri Kallio (k)
Niclas Etelavuori (b)
Jan Rechberger (d)

Track Listing:
1. Magic & Mayhem
2. Vulgar Necrolatry
3. Into Hiding
4. Black Winter Day
5. On Rich and Poor
6. Exile of the Sons
7. The Castaway
8. Song of the Troubled
9. Sign from the North
10. Drowned Maid
11. Against Windows
12. My Kantelle
13. Light My Fire

Label: Nuclear Blast

Website: www.amorphis.net

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10

Dimmu Borgir Abrahadabra

by Alex Barbieri
Staff Writer

Dimmu Borgir which means “dark cities” or “dark castles/fortresses” in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse, is about as mainstream as black metal gets. Back in 2007, they became the first black metal band in history to have a number one album in their native country of Norway for In Sorte Diaboli. And in the U.S., the band has an exclusive marketing deal with Hot Topic, a mall chain store that caters to kids into, well, chains.

Recorded in Sweden and Norway, Abrahadabra features Dimmu Borgir’s three (hard) core members: Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder, along with an army of guest musicians, including Snowy Shaw on bass, Daray on drums and Gerlioz on keyboard. The album is their first to feature a full ensemble orchestra, the Kringkastingsorkestret (Norwegian Radio Orchestra), as well as the Schola Cantorum choir, which totaled more than 100 musicians and singers. The orchestral arrangements were conducted by Gaute Storaas. The cover art — designed for maximum creepiness — is by Joachim Luetke. Like all great heavy metal album art, the cover intrigues and looks like the album sounds.

Dimmu Borgir is symphonic black metal. Their music is epic, gothic, intense and darkly beautiful. It would make a perfect horror movie soundtrack. (Here’s a tip, Hollywood: Make a horror movie called Dimmu Borgir with Abrahadabra as the soundtrack!) But you must be in the mood for this music. Because of its relentless brutality and maze-like arrangements, it is taxing on the ears and brain after a while. That said, when you are in the mood to release your inner demon, it is incredibly thrilling and invigorating. Some highlights, or this case lowlights, of the album are “Xibir,” the grotesque opening that sounds like Satan burping, the first single, “Gateways” and “Ritualist” the song that finally delivers a chorus you can clench your fist and chant along to.

Dimmu Borgir and bands of their ilk are a necessary evil. They maintain the musical balance in the world. They are the dark to Disney pop’s light. And they are a perfectly decadent guilty pleasure. Norway won’t be the only place this album will go to No. 1. Pick up a copy of Abrahadabra, play it loud Halloween night and watch the neighborhood kids tremble. (Dark, sinister laugh.)

Watch the video for “Gateways” on YouTube.

Order Abrahadabra from Hot Topic.

Genre: Black Metal/Death Metal

Band:
Shagrath – Vocals, Keyboards
Silenoz – Guitars
Galder – Guitars

Guest members:
Snowy Shaw – Bass, Clean Vocals
Daray – Drums
Agnete Maria Forfang Kjølsrud – Female Vocals
Kristoffer Rygg – Vocals
Kringkastingsorkestret (The Norwegian Radio Orchestra), conducted by Gaute
Storaas
The Schola Cantorum Choir

Track Listing:
1. Xibir
2. Born Treacherous
3. Gateways
4. Chess with the Abyss
5. Dimmu Borgir
6. Ritualist
7. The Demiurge Molecule
8. A Jewel Traced Through Coal
9. Renewal
10. Endings and Continuations

Label: Nuclear Blast

Online:
http://www.dimmu-borgir.com/
http://www.myspace.com/dimmuborgir
http://www.reverbnation.com/dimmuborgir

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8/10

Accept Blood of the Nations

by Erik Tweedy
Staff Writer

Accept is back! After a 14-year hiatus the iconic German metal band have returned in full force with their new studio album Blood of the Nations, featuring new lead vocalist Mark Tornillo. From the first guitar riffs of “Beat the Bastards,” you know this is an Accept record complete with all the Accept trademarks from the dueling guitars of Wolf Hoffmann and Herman Frank to the double bass drums of Stefan Schwarzmann, the thundering bass of Peter Baltes and the deep growling background vocals. This is classic Accept heavy metal at its finest.

Absent this time around from the lineup is original vocalist Udo Dirkschneider who chose to sit out this resurrection of the classic lineup from the mid ‘90s in favor of continuing to front his own band U.D.O where he has been comfortably leading the metal charge across Europe for over 20 years. Replacing Dirkschneider was no small feat as his unique and gruff vocal style is synonymous with the band’s name. In early 2009, Wolf Hoffmann and Peter Baltes went on a mission to find a replacement and at the suggestion of a friend gave TT Quick vocalist, Mark Tornillo, a tryout and it was a match made in heaven. Tornillo’s vocal style is very much in the Udo vein while also maintaining its own style and Tornillo has more range.

Standout track “The Abyss”, about the self destruction of the planet, has a cool mellow verse half way in that showcases the vocal range of Tornillo and leads into a killer Hoffmann solo. This is definitely an improvement over the David Reece experiment Accept tried to pull off in 1989 when Udo first left the band and they released Eat the Heat. There will be some critics that say Tornillo is trying too hard to sound like Udo but if you listen to anything by TT Quick you will hear a mix of Udo, Lemmy and Dan McCafferty from Nazareth which fits perfectly on this release.

Musically, this record flat out rocks and the production by Andy Sneap is top notch. With all the crunchy guitar intros and leads, you can tell that Wolf Hoffmann had a lot of fun writing and recording this record. This is the best Accept have sounded since Metal Heart back in ‘85.

Blood of the Nations is not a concept record but does have a theme running through most of the tracks about global war, religion and destruction. Tracks like “Teutonic Terror”, “Shades of Death”, “Bucketful of Hate” and the title track “Blood of the Nations” give you the feeling that WW III is right around the corner. Tornillo is responsible for writing all of the lyrics which is something new for the band. On all past Accept releases, Wolf Hoffmann’s wife Gaby was the main lyricist.

Halfway in, “Locked and Loaded” hits you like a ton of bricks with its full speed metal attack that harkens back to the Restless and Wild days while “Kill the Pain” shows the softer bluesy side of the band with some very tasty soloing by Hoffmann. If you like great metal guitar, you will like every track on here and will not be hitting the skip button. Some listeners may tire of the soldier-like background vocals on most of the tracks that have become an Accept staple beginning with Balls to the Wall but the blazing guitar work and strong lead vocals more than make up for anything negative.

If you are an old-school Accept fan you need to own this and if you have never listened to them before, this is a great place to start. At the end of the year, Blood of the Nations should be near the top of every top 10 hard rock/metal list.

Band:
Mark Tornillo – Lead Vocals
Wolf Hoffmann – Lead Guitar
Peter Baltes – Bass
Frank Hermann – Guitar
Stefan Schwarzmann – Drums

Track Listing:
1. Beat the Bastards
2. Teutonic Terror
3. The Abyss
4. Blood of the Nations
5. Shades of Death
6. Locked and Loaded
7. Time Machine
8. Kill the Pain
9. Rolling Thunder
10. Pandemic
11. New World Comin’
12. No Shelter
13. Bucket Full of Hate

Label: Nuclear Blast

Website: http://www.acceptworldwide.com/

Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10

Revamp Revamp

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

Revamp is the highly anticipated new project from former After Forever siren Floor Jansen. After more than a decade with the band, Jansen started Revamp with the help of former bandmate Joost van den Broek and Waldemar Sorychta (of Grip, Inc.), who collaborated with her in the writing and recording of this self-titled debut album.

Revamp is, unsurprisingly, not too far removed from Jansen’s work in After Forever, though the band has managed to move beyond the confines and structures you’d typically associate with that kind of music. For one thing, it’s metal as hell. Not metal in a delicate flower kind of way either. These songs have some blistering riffs and pounding rhythms that all but guarantee headbanging. To be sure, there are symphonic and gothic elements (choirs, keys, strings, etc.), and the songs have a great sense of melody, but heavy freaking metal is definitely the order of the day. As for Jansen, she’s all over the place here, demonstrating a range that goes from delicate whispers to anguished (or is that triumphant) almost screaming. She’s a wonder to behold, and this may be her finest performance to date.

As if Jansen’s powerful voice wasn’t incentive enough, the Revamp debut also features a trio of guest vocal appearances. Russell Allen (of Symphony X) performs a duet with Jansen on the haunting “Sweet Curse,” Soilwork’s Bjorn “Speed” Strid delivers a short, sharp shock on “In Sickness: Till Death Do Us Part – Disdain,” and George Oosthoek (of Orphanage) growls on “Here’s My Hell.”

Revamp is obviously going to be a must-have for fans of Jansen’s prior work in After Forever. It should also appeal to fans of female-fronted gothic/symphonic metal in general, especially those who might have grown bored with the overcrowded genre’s less adventurous bands. Revamp is rewriting the book on this kind of metal.

Genre: Symphonic Metal

Band:
Floor Jansen (v)
Matthias Landes (d)
Jaap Melman (b)
Jord Otto (g)
Arjan Rijnen (g)
Ruben Wijga (k)

Track Listing:
1. Here’s My Hell
2. Head Up High
3. Sweet Curse
4. Million
5. In Sickness: Till Death Do Us Part – All Goodbyes are Said
6. Break
7. In Sickness: Till Death Do Us Part – Disdain
8. In Sickness: Till Death Do Us Part – Disgraced
9. Kill Me With Silence
10. Fast Forward
11. The Trial of Monsters
12. Under My Skin
13. I Lost Myself

Label: Nuclear Blast

Website: www.revampmusic.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10

Blind Guardian At the Edge of Time

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

German power metal masters Blind Guardian is a band that believes in taking the time to get it right. After making fans wait an almost unbearable four years between A Night at the Opera and their 2006 follow-up A Twist in the Myth, Blind Guardian took another four years to prepare their tenth studio album, titled At the Edge of Time. At this point in the band’s career, every new album has become a highly anticipated event.

With At the Edge of Time, Blind Guardian has managed to strike a balance between the heavily orchestrated approach of A Night at the Opera and the more straightforward power metal sound of A Twist in the Myth. “Valkyries” and “Wheel of Time” are two of the more orchestrated songs, with progressive time changes and huge layered vocals similar to the band’s epic “And Then There Was Silence.” The album’s first single “A Voice in the Dark” is more reminiscent of the old Imaginations From the Other Side days, with a heavy, thrashing guitar sound and more classic power metal structure. “Tanelorn (Into the Void)” has a similar feel, revisiting concepts explored on the classic Somewhere Far Beyond album. The album seems split along those lines, which should please fans of both eras of Blind Guardian. There are also some interesting folk elements used on “Curse My Name” that really ought to be used more often, as they complement Blind Guardian’s unique style.

As is Blind Guardian’s norm, all of the songs on At the Edge of Time are based on fantasy literature, from John Milton’s Paradise Lost (“Control the Divine”) to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time (“Wheel of Time”), including a pair of songs (“A Voice in the Dark” and “War of Thrones”) based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. These fantasy themes are a huge component of Blind Guardian’s sound, and clearly inspire Hansi Kursch to great heights as a songwriter.

As far as the musical performances go, At the Edge of Time more lives up to the high Blind Guardian standard. These guys are by far the best band in the power metal genre, and they’ve pretty much perfected their craft. Andre Olbrich in particular shines on this album, delivering thrashing riffs and intricate solos with equal flair. The rhythm section is also incredible, though you have to wonder why they haven’t made bassist Oliver Holzwarth a full-time member yet. And then there’s Hansi, who has one of the most unique and recognizable voices in metal. He turns in an amazing performance here, and actually seems to be getting better with age.

At the Edge of Time is easily one of the best power metal albums of 2010 (and the past five years, for that matter). It might not represent a big step forward for the band, but it is an extremely good power metal album that is more than worthy of the name Blind Guardian.

(Edition Notes: There is a limited, 2-disc version of At the Edge of Time that includes demos, alternate versions and a video clip. This review is for the main album, as we have not heard any of the bonus material.)

Genre: Power Metal

Band:
Hansi Kursch (v)
Andre Olbrich (g)
Marcus Siepen (g)
Frederick Ehmke (d)

Track Listing:
1. Sacred Worlds
2. Tanelorn (Into the Void)
3. Road of No Release
4. Ride Into Obsession
5. Curse My Name
6. Valkyries
7. Control the Divine
8. War of Thrones (piano version)
9. A Voice in the Dark
10. Wheel of Time

Label: Nuclear Blast

Website: www.blind-guardian.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5/10

Cathedral Guessing Game

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer

After remaining dormant for roughly four years (as seems to be their new trend since 2002′s The VIIth Coming), British doom masters Cathedral have returned with The Guessing Game. Spreading across 13 songs and two discs, The Guessing Game sees Lee Dorrian and company dabbling in some very psychedelic waters, while still retaining their groove-laced, doom-centered core. While it’s nice to see the band breaking out of their expected mold, in many cases the experimentation yields mostly unimpressive results.

Starting things off in a drug-happy fashion, “Immaculate Misconception” features some very trippy keys that swirl over a monotonous, dirge-y instrumental, succeeded by the sounds of a crying baby. All of these elements combine to create a dark, and very creepy overview of the album ahead.

“Funeral of Dreams” begins in a more traditional, bar-chord heavy Cathedral fashion, but things quickly turn strange, with the inclusion of a very psychedelic spoken word section and, wait, a xylophone? Certainly not very metal. Unfortunately, this strange detour (which weaves back and forth with the metal bits) is less groovy and more gruesome, as Dorrian’s painfully off-key vocals kill the overall buzz. While never a particularly amazing vocalist, times like this (and again throughout the album) make one yearn for his grunting, Napalm Death days.

Other more experimental tracks do fare better—instrumental title track, “The Guessing Game,” is very cool and mellow, showing that the band doesn’t have to rely on full-out distortion to get their point across. “Cats, Incense, Candles and Wine” is a masterpiece of doomy weirdness and serves as an excellent closer for disc one.

Unsurprisingly, the band shines most when sticking to more familiar waters. Masters of power-chord centered riffs, tracks like “Painting in the Dark,” “Casket Chasers,” and the strangely-titled “La Noche del Buque Maldito (aka Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead)” showcase the band’s strengths, with the latter even dabbling in a bit of NWOBHM.

Not to rag too hard on frontman and founder Lee Dorrian, but things take a lyrical turn for the worse on the final two tracks, “Requiem for the Voiceless” and “Journeys Into Jade.” “Requiem…” decrees the pain animals go through whilst being prepped for slaughter, but the witless lyrics do little more than make the more voracious of us just crave a burger. “Journeys Into Jade” tracks the band from its formative days in 1989 and essentially comes across as someone singing the band’s Wikipedia entry over music. While not a bad track overall, it would seem that a more creative telling of their history could have been spun.

While still retaining the core of what they’re known for, it’s interesting to see the members of Cathedral trying new things. In many cases, however, it would appear the band would be better to just stick with what they know, and though that may get a bit boring for the band and fans alike, the results would likely be more palatable.

Genre: Doom Metal

Band:
Lee Dorrian (v)
Brian Dixon (d)
Leo Smee (b)
Garry Jennings (g)

Track Listing:

Disc One
1. Immaculate Misconception
2. Funeral of Dreams
3. Painting in the Dark
4. Death of an Anarchist
5. The Guessing Game
6. Edwige’s Eyes
7. Cats, Incense, Candles and Wine
Disc Two
1. One Dimensional People
2. The Casket Chasers
3. La Noche del Buque Maldito (aka Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead)
4. The Running Man
5. Requiem for the Voiceless
6. Journeys into Jade

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Website: www.myspace.com/cathedral

Hardrock Haven rating: 6/10

Hardcore Superstar Beg for It

by Leyla Hemedi
Guest Writer

As excited as you can be waiting for a favorite artist’s new record, you also get that slight feeling of trepidation right? What if it’s not as good? What if it’s a letdown? What if, delicately put, it’s the worst piece of suck since grunge came to glam-town? It’s a common fear that a band will not live up to its past records but with Beg For It, Hardcore Superstar not only live up to their sleaze punk/metal glory, they often surpass it with a few select songs.

Beg For It starts out with a nice little cowboys’n Injuns ditty aptly titled, “This Worm’s For Ennio,” a nod to noted spaghetti-western composer Ennio Morricone. The worm part might confuse but in this writer’s infinite wisdom, it has been deduced that it’s a reference to the worm in mescal. And thus, this worm, this shot of larva-adorned tequila, is for Ennio.

That was altogether too much analysis for one two-minute instrumental and so we move on to the title track, “Beg For It.” Combining the screechy, hard vocals with the catchy guitar hooks HCSS can practically trademark, it’s a throbbing, racing, and excellent first single. With its screaming, chorus demanding we, well, beg for it, it will get stuck in your head. “Into Debauchery,” has a similar tune with the ever-present awesomely loud, pounding drums, but the drawn-out vocals that paint pictures of naughty activities in graveyards, make it the second best song on the album.

The best song, however, is, “Nervous Breakdown.” Again, it’s another machine-gun, speed-freak HCSS song that sounds best when played obnoxiously loud but the raspy voice of Jocke Berg combined with the harmonizing backing vocals pump out a song that you will listen to no less than 32 times within two days of owning it.*

“Hope For A Normal Life,” eases up the record’s edginess with an acoustic intro and a solo electric guitar weaving in and out. It’s not technically a ballad, but it does slow the manic pace the previous four songs established. While it is a pretty song with nothing technically wrong with it, it still serves as the one filler song on the record.

“Don’t Care ‘Bout Your Bad Behaviour,” is another solid hard rock song complete with those drums fans love so much but then we get, “Remove My Brain,” with its chanting chorus and finally the punk edge of Hardcore Superstar starts to show. It’s the perfect song to scream along to. Covering all their musical influences, “Take’Em All Out,” has a bouncy tune so familiar it could be straight out of ‘80s Sunset Strip glam metal.

Finally, the record finishes up with “Innocent Boy,” another amazing, don’t-give-a-damn number that actually includes the lyrics, “Don’t give a damn.” Pairing the brutal verses with slower, more melodic choruses it’s the finale that makes you wish for encores. Consider it a challenge to top this one, boys. Though it shouldn’t be hard. That good, old, sleaze rock is alive and dirty in Hardcore Superstar.

Band Members:
Jocke Berg – Vocals
Vic Zino – Guitar
Martin Sandvik – Bass
Magnus “ADDE” Andreasson – Drums

Label: Nuclear Blast GmbH

Track Listing:
This Worm’s For Ennio
Beg For It
Into Debauchery
Shades of Grey
Nervous Breakdown
Hope For A Normal Life
Don’t Care ‘Bout Your Bad Behaviour
Remove My Brain
Spit It Out
Illegal Fun
Take’em All Out
Innocent Boy

Website: www.hardcoresuperstar.com

Hardrock Haven Rating: 9.5/10