{"id":39858,"date":"2014-04-24T06:28:33","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T11:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39858"},"modified":"2014-04-24T06:28:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T11:28:33","slug":"scream-maker-livin-in-the-past-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/scream-maker-livin-in-the-past-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Scream Maker | Livin\u2019 In The Past<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"ScreamAfter having the audience introduced to their classic heavy metal sound with their EP We Are Not The Same<\/em>, this year Scream Maker returns with the full length album Livin In The Past<\/em>. The cover artwork was designed by Ros\u0142aw Szaybo (a Polish artist and cover designer known as the author of Judas Priest British Steel album cover, among the others) and the guru behind the recording console was no one else but Alessandro Del Vecchio. In addition to this, the young Polish metal act was supported in the studio by the two guest musicians \u2013 a legendary Polish axeman Wojciech Hoffmann (Turbo, ex-Non Iron) and the virtuoso keyboardist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment). <\/p>\n

Livin\u2019 In The Past<\/em> starts with a monumental piano intro, composed and performed by no one else but Dream Theater\u2019s Jordan Rudess \u2013 a classic prelude to what Scream Maker delivers on their first full length album. And what they do is still one hundred per cent classic heavy metal with certain \u201880s vibes and modern-day production; apparently, Livin\u2019 In The Past<\/em> is not an accidental title by any means, as it perfectly captures what Scream Maker was always all about. <\/p>\n

High-pitched, clean vocals, old school heavy metal riffs, punchy rhythm section? Listen to the second track \u201dIn The Nest Of Serpents\u201d to realize Scream Maker has it all. Heavy but melodic, it precedes \u201cGlory For The Fools\u201d \u2013 one of these rarer power metal-infused moments on the album, with the track\u2019s raw, fast-paced riffs and powerful, but melodic choruses. This stylistic \u2018two-timing\u2019 adds more variety to the record\u2019s entirety as well as proves the band\u2019s versatility. It\u2019s also the track featuring the guest solo played by Wojciech Hoffmann of Turbo. <\/p>\n

As for \u201cLivin\u2019 In The Past,\u201d it\u2019s a mid-tempo with dynamic choruses, the one to feature really exceptional and much emotionally laden vocal performance of the lead singer Sebastian Stodolak, showing his wide vocal range as well as the undeniable power of his voice, all this against the background of the meaty, old school metal riffs. Don\u2019t be misled by the opening wailing guitar sound of \u201cFever\u201d \u2013 despite it having slow-ish and ballad-esque verses, the band goes full on in the track\u2019s powerful chorus. <\/p>\n

With \u201cAll My Life,\u201d it\u2019s more than obvious that the track should have the audience screaming and dancing at each and every Scream Maker\u2019s gig. In this potential fan-favourite, Stodolak sounds raw and feisty throughout the verses to get carried away with the stellar melody of the \u201880s-infused choruses; there\u2019s a place for some extraordinary shredding within the song as well. The mid-tempo \u201cAngel\u201d \u2013 although still does border on the old school hard rock \u2013 sounds slightly more modern (and lighter) than the rest of the material. Opened by simple yet catchy drumline, \u201cSpacestone\u201d blends more contemporary sound with Purple-esque 1970s undertones. The gloomy and wistful opening of \u201cStand Together\u201d suggests a ballad and so it is; a monumental, majestic piece of slow-ish, lumbering metal enriched with a blistering guitar solo and ending with a mellow instrumental coda. It\u2019s certainly one of the album\u2019s highlights. <\/p>\n

Lyric-wise, the next track \u201cConfessions\u201d might be as well recorded by Alice Cooper or W.A.S.P. \u2013 it\u2019s a dark song with the creepy horror-like intro. With \u201cNever Say Never\u201d one should get one\u2019s lighter out \u2013 here comes a soaring power-ballad, a tearjerker obligatory in every hard rock\/heavy metal band\u2019s catalogue. The last is the anthem-like \u201cMetalheads\u201d with raw, abrasive riffs and some flavors of power metal. \u201c… No remorse and no regrets, yes, we are the metalheads,\u201d Stodolak sings and you have to believe him, since throughout the entire record Scream Maker proves they know well what heavy metal stands for.<\/p>\n

Although music-wise there is no drastic change from what Scream Maker introduced the audience to on their EP, one certain thing about their first full-length album is that it marks another huge step in development of their own style. Some songs off We Are Not The Same at times bore a slight resemblance to the sound and style of Iron Maiden, Dio or Judas Priest. Here, however, the band\u2019s influences blend into a cohesive and coherent musical unit rather than resembling any of the above bands in particular. Having added to this the great, clean production and Scream Maker\u2019s much-praised musicianship as well as their great songwriting ideas, Livin\u2019 In The Past<\/em> is a brilliant album altogether \u2013 remember, Jordan Rudess couldn\u2019t be wrong! Much recommended to all hard rock and heavy metal fans out there.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nSebastian Stodolak \u2013 vocals
\nAjronmajk – lead guitar
\nMarek Stanisz – rhythm guitar
\nAdam “Radzi\u0142” Radzi\u0142owski \u2013 bass
\nTomasz Nachy\u0142a – drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. Intro
\n2. In The Nest of Serpents
\n3. Glory for the Fools
\n4. Livin\u2019 in the Past
\n5. Fever
\n6. All My Life
\n7. Angel
\n8. Spacestone
\n9. Stand Together
\n10. Confessions
\n11. Never Say Never
\n12. Metalheads<\/p>\n

Label: Perris Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/screammaker<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — After having the audience introduced to their classic heavy metal sound with their EP We Are Not The Same, this year Scream Maker returns with the full length album […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,1103,2491,9185,981,8891],"class_list":{"0":"post-39858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-hard-rock","10":"tag-heavy-metal","11":"tag-livin-in-the-past","12":"tag-perris-records","13":"tag-scream-maker"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}