ARVEN-
Arven
GER Demo CD 2008
5 TRACKS: Intro – Ruined Castle – Music Of Light – On Flaming Wings – A Strangers Story
Now this is what I'd like to call an interesting demo! The band is called ARVEN and they are five female members and a male drummer. The CD contains five songs and has a playing time of about twenty minutes. The forty-four seconds intro makes me think that we're dealing with a gothic metal band here. However, their sound is much more powerful, although the vocals are very suitable for gothic metal. Judging by the first minutes of "Ruined Castle", I would rather go for a description like melodic progressive power metal. What really strikes me is, that the ladies are all dressed up in beautiful dresses, which is why I made the connection to gothic metal in the first place. "Music Of Light" sounds a little bit modest. But not for long. Hear the loud and fast thundering drums at the end of the song, which sounds like magic. Six members in one band means six different influences, and all these influences seem to melt together in one song. A song, that opens with a sweet violin sound and closes with a thrashy rhythm. "On Flaming Wings" captures the nice opera voice of Carine, next to the very powerful sound of the band. They almost sound like SAXON with a female opera singer. Try to imagine that. Another band, that comes to mind frequently is SKYCLAD. Probably because their music is also very joyful and has a very folky atmosphere. Last song on this magnificent release is a song, called "A Strangers Story". A lengthy track with many mood changes, that surprised me big time. This is great stuff! I can highly recommend this demo CD to everyone, who likes a bit of power in their music. Okay, the opera voice of Carina might remind you of NIGHTWISH in a way, but it doesn't sound annoying at all. Fact is, that these ladies know how to rock, and their male drummer does, too. They also know to fascinate me with these great songs, containing tonz of power. A great demo and well worth to check it out!
LINE UP: Lena Yatsula (keys), Eva Kreuzer (b,v), Ines Thome (g), Anastasia Schmidt (g), Carina Hanselmann (v), Till Felden (d)
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/arvenband
EMAIL: arvenguitar@email.de
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Spring/Summer 2008)
KILLSET-
Fake Surrounding
POL Promo CD 2006
4 TRACKS: Blood On My Back – Evidence Of Life – Point Of No Return – Fake Surrounding
KILLSET is an all-female band from the south of Poland. And somehow these bands always get my special attention. The band was born out of love for heavy metal, which is a good start in the first place. And you will definitely hear that passion back on these four songs and fifteen minutes of music. The CD opens with "Blood On My Back", which contains some fiery guitars, a steady drum beat and black metal like vocals. The atmosphere sounds right, the guitar solo is entertaining and they sure know to convince me, that they like their music very loud. Okay, this four track promo does have the sound of a home recording, but these four ladies have the right attitude and that's what counts here. "Evidence Of Life" is on next, which has got another great guitar solo. The guitars sound more laid back, comparing to the music, but that's okay. The fact, that there are guitar solos is already great! And the wild screaming vocals by Julie and Ms Vindice are very convincing indeed. The band already played live with Polish acts like FACE OF REALITY, TOTEM and DELIGHT. "Point Of No Return" starts off with the driving bass guitar of Ms. Vince. A threatening sound leaves our speakers, creating a very doomy atmosphere. "Fake Surrounding" - the very powerful title track - closes our introduction with KILLSET. I think, that people who are into OTEP, ARCH ENEMY, MY RUIN, KITTIE and HOLY MOSES will definitely have a great listen to the four songs on this promo CD. We are very curious, what the future has in store for these tough ladies and we'll keep an eye out, that's for sure!
LINE UP: Ms Vindice (b,v), Julie (g,v), Ola K. (g), Luiza (d, bv).
WEBSITE: www.killset.hardzone.pl
MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/killset
EMAIL: dokax@wp.pl
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Spring/Summer 2008)
PRYM-
Prym
ROM Demo CD 2007
5 TRACKS: Intro – Dreams Of The One – Prym – Watching The Void - ....Of Lead
PRYM originally started their career in 2004 under the name of CRADLE MY DARLING. With this band, they created a cover CD called "Stolen", which is a good tongue-in-cheeck title for a cover CD. Three years later, after a name change and a few line up changes, they release this five track demo. The short instrumental intro doesn't give you any clue at all, in which direction the sound of PRYM is heading. "Dreams Of The One" gives the first hint. It's heavy, slightly doomy, progressive and maybe even a bit psychedelic. The dark voice of Muresan gives away the secret, that we're dealing with an Eastern European band here. And also the way, that Sulyok and Csiszár pluck their strings, make you think in that direction. Title track "Prym" starts modest and laid back. A short eruption follows, but soon they return to the modest state of mind in this song. While "Watching The Void" is a steady rock song with dreamy vocals and a fiery guitar solo at the end of the song. "... Of Lead" closes this demo in a rocking kind of way with a psychedelic edge. PRYM may not be a loud metal band, but they sure know to create a sound of their own, for which I have to give them full credit. Especially because this band comes from Romania, it is very important that we give some special attention to PRYM. Fans of OPETH or PSYCHOTIK WALTZ might dig this.
LINE UP: Muresan Réka (v), Sulyok Csaba (g), Csiszár Gellért (g), Kántor Zoltán (b), Csapó Huba (d)
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/prymband
EMAIL: endre.sch@gmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Spring/Summer 2008)
SCATHA-
Keep Thrashing
BRA Demo CD 2007
5 TRACKS: The Unknown Man – No Mercy – Odd Being ..... Off Conception – Movido Pela Raiva – Own War
Thrash metal from Brazil. SCATHA was formed in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, well-known for the calypso, salsa and rumba and the well-known carnival. Not for SCATHA, they rather unleash their fury in their loud music: old school thrash metal, that will probably remind you of bands like TESTAMENT and SLAYER. The melodic streak makes their sound very easy to enjoy. The fact, that this is another all-female band makes this demo very interesting to us. The five songs have a total playing time of about nineteen minutes. Opener "The Unknown Man" sounds fast and furious, but the speed goes down a little at the beginning of "No Mercy". Touches of "Reigning Blood" are present here, while later on the song gains more speed. "Odd Being ... Off Conception" contains some brutal growling of Angélica, who sounds darker than Tom Araya or Chuck Billy. The great guitar solos add a hot ingredient to the music of SCATHA. "Movido Pela Riva" enters your room like a storm. It's over before you know it, but it has a helluva impact on you. "Own War" is the final track, which contains a lot of melody. I think, the sound of SCATHA is really fascinating. Mind you, this is just a demo recording by a band, that hopefully has a long and successful future ahead of them. Both thumbs go up for SCATHA.
LINE UP: Angélica Burns (v), Julia Pombo (g), Cínthia Ventania (b), Paula Leão (g), Cynthia Tsai Yuen (d)
WEBSITE: www.scatha.net
EMAIL: bandascatha@gmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Spring/Summer 2008)
VANADIS-
Vanadis
NL Demo CD 2007
4 TRACKS: Ad Midjum – Fooled – Ride With The Northern Lights – Mortal Prison
This demo CD comes in a rather exclusive package. Next to the normal, four track, sixteen minute audio CD, you also get a forty minute live DVD (which is reviewed in our DVD section). A good way to present yourself to the public. VANADIS was formed in 2006 and they create a sound, that mixes progressive rock with gothic metal and symphonic rock. Especially in the instrumental parts, the symphonic side of the band reveals. Opener "Ad Midjum" is a good example of what this band is all about. They create a rather uncommon mix of styles and create a style of their own. Maybe the sound of a band like MORNING comes close to it. "Fooled" is definitely one of the highlights here. It opens with some moody keyboard playing by Ruben, topped with the voice of Manalys. Slowly, the song builds itself up to a duet with the keyboard player. The addition of the flute playing by David Macro, who also plays bass guitar in VANADIS, completes this romantic atmosphere. I regret to say, that this song is not really heavy metal or hard rock, but it's very beautiful indeed. WITHIN TEMPTATION and NIGHTWISH already know to score a hit single with a song like this and hopefully VANADIS will follow their footsteps. "Ride With The Northern Lights" is a short bombastic instrumental intro to demo closer "Mortal Prison", in which the band presses the pedal to the metal for the last time. Here, they show that a mix of different music styles can sound very exciting. VANADIS left behind a good impression with this four track audio sample. These four songs make sure, that VANADIS is another branch on the well growing Dutch music tree.
LINE UP: Manalis (v), Nathan Michaels (g), Ruben Marrenga (keys/v), David Macro (b/fl)
WEBSITE: http://www.vanadisnusic.com
EMAIL: info@vanadismusic.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Spring/Summer 2008)
ALERION-
Fledgling
NL Demo CD 2007
5 TRACKS: Hindsight (1976) – Estrangement – Ruins – Dragnipur – She-wolf
After some line up changes, the storm has finally cleared for ALERION. It’s time to introduce this band to you by means of this five track demo, called “Fledgling”. I must say, that I really like their sound. It’s not the standard gothic, female-fronted cup of tea, that you get served in front of you. Instead, this band adds more power and speed to their sound and provide us with some juicy tunes. The production may not all be that perfect, but it’s the music that counts here. Listen to opener “Hindsight (1976) to get an idea. Fiery riffs and a powerful beat are captured in this song. The guitar solos at the end are flashing and more than remarkable. A very good start for this Dutch band. “Estrangement” is a short instrumental tune, which starts as an introduction to the next song “Ruins”. Again the band is not afraid to beef up this one with an excellent guitar solo. “Dragnipur” opens with some cool riffs. And after four songs I know, that ALERION is something different and maybe even special in a way. It’s hard to compare them to any other band in the overfloaded metal scene. Which is good and it means that they’re one of a kind. Mix heavy metal with prog metal and add some female vocals to it. Shake this very well and add some chili for the powerful flavour. Voila, the ALERION taste is ready. “She-Wolf” is the last song on this five track, twenty minutes demo. It’s a cover by MEGADETH and played a bit faster. I should say, played in the way IRON MAIDEN would have done it. Just listen to the closing chords to catch my drift. ALERION is a good band, but they have to find a stable line up, before they can get any further than the demo phase. Note: While writing this review, we found out that singer Romy Muste is about to leave the band. What a shame after such a good start! It has also come to our attention, that despite Romy's departure, she will still sing on three gigs in February 2008 (see our concert page). These will be the final gigs Romy does with the band, after which she will truly leave ALERION. The band will announce a new singer early March....
LINE UP: Romy Muste (v), Bas Willemsen (lg,bv), Ronald van Schaik (b), Lennert Stap (d), Joey Klerkx (lg)
WEBSITE: www.alerion.nl
EMAIL: info -at- alerion.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Winter 2007-2008)
ARTEP-
Fires Of Mortal Deception
CAN Demo CD 2007
4 TRACKS: Birth Of Anti-Christ – Anti-Christ – Eruption – Desolate Land
With Wagnerian bombastic sounds, ARTEP opens this four track demo with a short instrumental song called “Birth Of Anti-Christ”. No idea yet of what to come, I slowly put the volume up a bit. The “Anti-Christ” is a black metal explosion right in your face. Fast and furious drum rolls of Lord Goatesque, and his hellish screams will turn your bedroom into a pit of destruction and blasphemy. At the end of the song, there’s another bombastic piece, the way Wagner would have done it in his time. ARTEP is definitely not suitable for Christians and the faint-hearted. This band still uses corpse paint and loves their gruesome black metal outings as brutal as possible. The icely scream, that opens “Eruption” is about to hurt your eardrum. It’s the sound, you will hear, when your firstborn child doesn’t have any hands or feet, but a cloven hoof and claws. And a giant tail, which ends in a sort of spear point. “Eruption” is a brutal attack of black metal madness. Those unbelievable screams and the bass drums are so fast! It’s like the drummer has been haunted and followed by Pinhead of Hellraiser for years. The band looks very smashing indeed in their outfit, including giant leather wristbands, upside down crosses, corpse paint and a true black metal spirit, that comes together with it all. They also seem to have a wonderful live show. So both thumbs up for this brutal black metal experience from Canada. Guitarplayer ARTEP comes from Pilsen in Czechoslovakia and her musical skills lift this demo to a higher level. I like this piece of music a lot and if you like black metal that comes close to the sound of EMPEROR, you’ll have to check out this magnificent demo for Christ sake...oh, I mean for Satans sake of course.
LINE UP: Artep (g,v,b,synths), Lord Goatesque (v,d)
WEBSITE: www.artepmetalcom and www.myspace.com/artepmetal
EMAIL: msobotka@shaw.ca
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Winter 2007-2008)
GWYLLION-
Awekening The Dream
BEL Demo CD 2007
8 TRACKS: Trinity – Strings Of Fate – Curse Of The Wise – Forever Me (You Are) – Once Upon A Lifetime – Running Together – Lost In A Dream – Helpless
Listening to the first song of this demo CD by GWYLLION, I thought I would bump into yet another gothic metal band, only this time with a bit more power maybe. I must admit, that I was absolutely wrong. The second song “Strings Of Fate” sounds so much different (read: better) than opener “Trinity” and it felt like lightning struck me. The opening riffs and progressive speed changes easily caught my attention and fullfilled me with great excitement. And it is there, when you start to listen to their music with different eyes. “Curse Of The Wise” has a sphereful opening and contains a powerful riff. “Forever Me (You Are)” is a ballad-type of song, starting with the sound of piano strings. “Once Upon A Lifetime” is the perfect turnover to power and craziness at headbang speed. What an immense adrenaline kick! Their powerful songs are the absolute prove, that GWYLLION sounds very different than all the average bands, that you hear in general. And if you’re not convinced yet, just listen to the total musical madness, that the band spreads in a song called “Running Together”. Just perfect! It’s simply impossible to compare them to other bands. It’s the madness of MAJESTY, before they became DREAM THEATER. The lunatic input could very well come from musical geniusses like STEVE VAI or FRANK ZAPPA. It’s by far the best song for me, next to “Once Upon A Lifetime”. “Lost In A Dream” contains a spoken part in the midst of the song. These words were taken from poems by Edgar Allen Poe. Yes, GWYLLION know their classics, as you can see. The sudden mood change is unexpected and therefore very exciting. Slowly, it takes this song to a beautiful climax. The demo closes with a song called “Helpless”, which is more in the gothic metal style with some progressive parts to it and a little more power. GWYLLION has opened my eyes, what a magnificent band!
LINE UP: Annelore Vantomme (v), Martijn DeBonnet (g,bv), Steve Deleu (g), Thomas Halsberghe (b), Joris DeBonnet (keys,bv) and Wouter DeBonnet (d,perc, fl)
WEBSITE: www.gwyllion.com
EMAIL: info@gwyllion.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Winter 2007-2008)
AETHERIUM-
Circle With The End
BEL Demo CD 2006
4 TRACKS: The Fallen Prince – Visions Of (Dis)Illusion – Drifting – Circle With The Hand
We see, that Kristel has returned to the line up of the Belgian death doom metal band AETERIUM, after an absence of nearly four long years. Her maniacal growls add something special to the death doom music of this fivesome, which was founded in 1994. The music of AETHERIUM sounds a bit more complex than the average doom death metal band. They try to add more speed and mood changes in their sound. “Visions Of (Dis)Illusion” is a real brutal killer attack to your pittyful ears. It sounds sludgier and more brutal than ever. Thick riffs and a bulldozer rhythm enters my room and the growls are really sick. In “Drifiting”, their sound gets darker and more doomy. The slow grinding bassguitar might even drop down the temperature in your house, and the sun slowly hides behind raven black clouds. Maybe to never appear again. At least that’s the feeling I get, while listening to this doom metal monster. Title track “Circle With The End” is an odd duet of Kristel together with Luciver of WITCHSMELLER PURSUIVANT. This demo may not be easy on the ears for those, who want to discover AETHERIUM for the first time. You must be patient to discover the beauty of this band, especially because AETHERIUM doesn’t follow the long paved path, that is already there. They choose to follow the more difficult, steep, rocky road, which also leads to the top. It will possibly take them a bit longer to get there though.
LINE UP: Kristel (v), Bie (g), Jannick (g), Dave (d) and Joël (b,v)
ADDRESS: Labo Records, De Reiger 3, 2980 Zoersel, Belgium
WEBSITE: www.aetherium.be
EMAIL: laborec@pandora.be
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
BUTCHERBABY-
2007 Demo
NL Demo CD 2005
4 TRACKS: Choking Her – Alarm Station – Boys Like You – Average Girl
Seeing the name BUTCHERBABY, my thoughts directly go out to THE PLASMATICS and WENDY O’ WILLIAMS. What a shock it was, when they launched this single and they were banned in almost every country. This band however comes from Holland and present us their four track demo, worthy of ten minutes of grungy punkrock noisemetal. They open with “Choking Her”, showing us that they really can play and not only crank out some useless noise alone. Strong riffs, a thundering bass and a drummer, who sometimes plays very innovative fills. And let’s not forget their singer, who does not scream for a change but really sings, which is a good thing if you want your fans to understand your lyrics and statements. “Alarm Station” is a short, but sweet punk rock song with a nice groove. Basje, their vocalist, puts a lot of emotion and power into her singing at the end of the song, which makes it highly enjoyable. In “Boys Like You”, the band gains some speed, which makes their music a little bit more punky. For me, this is the absolute highlight on the demo. Don’t forget to listen to “Average Girl” too, because this is really worth checking out as well. It proves, that BUTCHERBABY are not just a bunch of average girls. They’re some fine young musicians, who are ready to invade the rock scene of today. And although the band has nothing to do with the old PLASMATICS classic, I’m not disappointed at all after hearing these four songs. Rock on ladies, we know you can do it!
LINE UP: Sharon (d), Pamela (g), Kristel (b), Basje (v)
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/butcherbabysucksass
EMAIL: butcherbaby@gmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
CHAMBER 7-
untitled
US Promo CD 2007
4 TRACKS: The Evil I’d Do – Every Day – Across Your Skin – Naked
We know Jill Kuechle and CHAMBER 7 for a long, long time already, and it’s good to hear that the band is still around. High energy thrash metal enters my room, after an industrial intro. Jill’s bass sound is very prominent in the mix, like she’s ready to explode. Luckily, their vocalist is not a wild screamer. He never gets to the point, that you can’t hear what he’s singing about. That’s what I like. You need to be able to understand the message, that the band is spreading. “The Evil I’d Do” is very energetic and has some exciting breaks in the middle. In “Every Day”, we hear Jill’s bassguitar pounding again. And what about the other bandmembers? Well, they sound like SLIPKNOT, with the difference that the amount of noise is now coming from four people instead of nine clowns. The lyrics of “Every Day” are very recognisable. The beginning of “Across Your Skin” is dominated by the wild riffs of Dirty ‘Willy’ Edwards and Christopher Hernandez. Then, the speed is turned down a bit and turns into a solid power ballad. “Naked” will possibly become a crowd pleaser during the band’s live gigs, because the chorus is very easy to sing along to. When the song gains speed, it will create some crazy moves by their fans, I guess. CHAMBER 7 takes another step forward on their way to success. Their new album is in the making and I’m really looking forward to hearing the follow up to “Bacteria”, released in 1998. I’m delighted to know, that the Bay Area scene is kept alive by bands like CHAMBER 7.
LINE UP: Jon Hernandez (d), Dirty ‘Willy’Edwards (g), Jill Kuechle (b), Christopher Hernandez (v,g)
ADDRESS: CHAMBER 7, 1055 W. Washington Ave. #4, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, USA
WEBSITE: www.chamber7.com
EMAIL: chamber7@chamber7.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
EMPTY DREAMS-
Solar Waltz
RO Demo CD 2007
3 TRACKS: Bad Moon Rising – Solar Waltz – End Of My Dreams
EMPTY DREAMS is a melodic gothic metal band from Romania. And I must admit, that it’s a rather good one, too. Next to the melodic gothic metal elements that are mentioned in their bio, we also hear some exciting progressive outings and tasteful breaks, which makes their music very adventurous. I like the dark voice of new keyboard player Emese Kiss. It fits well to the music of this Rumanian band. Already in opener “Bad Moon Rising”, you’ll get a perfect idea of what their music sounds like. It goes far beyond the thousand and one gothic metal clones. This band adds another dimension (or two) to the well-known gothic metal sound with angel-like female voices and brutal growling male vocals. The instrumental parts show a lot more variation and the vocals are much darker. Here and there, you can hear an occasional short male growl, but when I concentrate myself on the music alone in “Solar Waltz”, I can tell you that we’re dealing with some very highly skilled musicians here. EMPTY DREAMS sounds like a real revelation to me. The demo closes with a ballad, called “End Of My Dreams”. My conclusion is, that Emese’s voice is very suitable to sing ballads as well. And again we hear some male vocals here, too. The band consists for seven years now, and vocalist, keyboard player Emese is the newest member in the band, who joined EMPTY DREAMS one year ago. I don’t know any of their previous music before this demo, but what know for sure is that Emese is a perfect new recruit, who can lift this band to a higher level, maybe even on international grounds. So get ready for a Romanian invasion, which will start with EMPTY DREAMS. Very well done, my friends! Latest news is, that EMPTY DREAMS has added a new guitarplayer in Csaba Kellner, who is one of the founding members of the band, after Trebor Gombos has left earlier.
LINE UP: Tibor Türke (d), Trebor ‘R.S.’ Gombos (g,v), Levente ‘Levi’ Schindler (b), Emese Kiss (v,keys)
ADDRESS: EMPTY DREAMS c/o Str. Viorelelor Nr.16, 545300 Reghin, Jud.Mures, ROMANIA/EU
WEBSITE: www.emptydreams.net
EMAIL: emptydreams_band@yahoo.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
INVERSUS-
2006 Demo
UKR Demo CD 2006
4 TRACKS: The Call Of The Dark Forrest – Keep On Running – The Land Of The Fallen Sun – Lord Of Demons (2004 version - bonus)
Many Eastern European bands are crying for attention nowadays. INVERSUS is one of these bands, who come from Ukraine. Do they play metal over there? Yes, they sure do and this band really impressed me with their four track demo. Their influences come from bands like EVANESCENCE, WITHIN TEMPTATION and more of these female-fronted gothic metal outfits. But once again this band adds something special to their sound giving it a little bit exclusivity. Otherwise they would simply drown in the pool of new releases. The very sphereful flute playing is such an enrichment to their sound. The guitar riffs are a bit wilder too maybe. And the male voice is not a grunter. Instead, he uses his talking voice rather than some wild screaming you might expect. The production is perfect for a demo and I think that, after hearing these songs, their debut album “The First Lightning” definitely will become a hit. The bonus track shows a more traditional approach of gothic metal. The male vocals are screaming now and the band also adds some Ukrainian lyrics to the song. To be honest with you, I like the newer songs better, although this is definitely not bad at all and it shows their Ukrainian roots. The demo plays for about nineteen minutes.
LINE UP: Natalya 'Bast' Kramorenko (v), Ruslan Drozd (g), Aleksandr ‘Alein’ Zinye (keys), Demitri Oleynik (b), Yuliya Zlemlynya (fl), Igor ‘CacoDem0n’ Grabin (dr)
WEBSITE: www.inversus.kiev.ua/
EMAIL: band@inversus.kiev.ua
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
KANYBL KAOW-
Demos
US Demo CD 2007
5 TRACKS: Angel – Lies – Plastic Peephole – The Pickle Song – The Wrong Song
This is a five track compilation of demo recordings by the American all-female band KANYBL KAOW. When I take a look at the painted faces of all bandmembers, my thoughts directly go out to TORMENTULA (the brainchild of drummer Alice Bludgeon), who looked very much alike in their early days. But I am quite curious to hear what KANYBL KAOW sounds like. In “Angel”, the band starts off with a riff, that could either come from SLADE or QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. It’s a catchy song with a rocking attitude. While “Lies” shows the more brutal side of the band, including some brutal growls. Alternative rock meets aggression in this song. “Plastic Peephole” also sounds very alternative with some touches of NIRVANA in a way. The darker atmosphere makes me draw this comparison. “The Pickle Song” sounds very aggressive and “The Wrong Song” is not so wrong as the title might suggest. Here and there, you’ll hear some mean growls, that are highly enjoyable. Sure, this band has still got a long road to go, before they’ll reach their destination. But their positive attitude and their will to become successful counts a lot more than becoming a big hit right away. If you see cows grinding meat instead of grass, hold a microphone to their mouth. Maybe you’re lucky and they start to sing, instead of saying ‘Booh’. Watch out though, because possibly you’re eye to eye with a cannibal cow then!
LINE UP: Rain (v), Snow (g), Silvermoon (d) Whitefeather (b)
WEBSITE: www.kanybl-kaow.com or www.myspace.com/kanyblkaow
EMAIL: snow_on_guitar@kanybl-kaow.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
TULAR-
Witch
ITA Demo CD 2007
3 TRACKS + 1 BONUS TRACK VIDEOCLIP: Witch! (Radio Edit) – Witch! (Album Edit) – We Rule The Night – Bonus: random cut of outcoming video clip
This three track demo contains some hot riffing, next to the witchy vocals of Francesca Martini. The epic metal of TULAR sounds quite powerful and it has some very fine moments. For example listen to the great guitarsolo in “Witch!” to get an idea. Together with the ‘TORI AMOS goes metal’-like vocals of Francesca, this surely is a very powerful and inspiring combination. In “We Rule The Night”, we hear the soprano vocals of Francesca, showing the more epical side by this Italian band. In the enhanced video clip we see, that Francesca looks a lot like Sharon den Adel of WITHIN TEMPTATION, but their music definitely sounds much more metal. An interesting release and I’m very curious to hear their upcoming debut album “The Truth Beneath The Mask”. I believe, that I’m not overrating the band, considering the fact that they only consist for a couple of months now. TULAR is definitely a name to watch out for in the future and I wish them all the luck in the world!
LINE UP: Francesca Martini (v), Emanuelle Palmieri (g), David Folchitto (session drummer from STORMLORD), Alessandro Iacobellis (rhythm guitar) and Michele Raspanti (b)
ADDRESS: TULAR c/o Via del Fringuello 119, 00169 Roma, ITALY.
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/tularofficial
EMAIL: tular@eutmused.com. or manager@euterpemusica.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
TWILIGHT ODYSSEY-
Promo three track
US Promo CD 2007
3 TRACKS: Squadron – Long Day’s Journey Into Night - Outlanders
With the full-length CD still fresh in mind, we received the new promo three tracker of New York City metalheads TWILIGHT ODYSSEY. The three songs have a total running time of about seventeen minutes. The disc opens with wailing sirens, before “Squadron” takes off faster than the speed of light. Great speedy riffs and the amazing siren voice of P.J. make me feel very happy, that TWILIGHT ODYSSEY didn’t change too much in their overall sound. The song is a mix of the old IRON MAIDEN sound and the great power metal sound of today. However, TWILIGHT ODYSSEY wouldn’t be the same, if they didn’t add some surprisingly speed changes in this song (listen to the great instrumental part for example). The CD continues with “Long Day’s Journey Into Night”, which obviously has more IRON MAIDEN influences (“The Trooper” era), especially when you listen to the sound of the guitars. The warm voice of P.J. fits just perfectly to this song. Also, there’s room for some great guitarsolos from both Ben and Jimmy. And I can tell you, that their guitarsolos even go far beyond the ability of the IRON MAIDEN threesome. The song closes with a wild scream of P.J, which sounds like a grunt. “Outlanders” is the longest track here, which contains some Eastern influences here and there. After the intro, we will enjoy some marvellous guitarwork of newcomer Jimmy, before this epic metaltrack really starts off. I really like the dubbed vocals of P.J. here, who sings the choir parts, as well as the refrain. Then suddenly the song stops. What follows after this short interruption, sounds too good to be true for any metalhead on this globe. The band pulls up in fifth gear and sounds exactly like one of the good speed changes, that the old NWOBHM bands used to put into their music. They really took me by surprise here and the very powerful drumming of Sal Pellerito sounded like magic. All in all, you can say that this song “Outlanders”, and especially in the last part where they speed up things so suddenly and unexpectedly, they stole my heart again, like on their first demo. TWILIGHT ODYSSEY still sounds like magic to me and if they will continue making songs like this, they will always have our full support. It’s a shame though, that this three track promo is not for sale, but it gives me a fairly good idea of what their follow-up CD will sound like. Besides singer and siren P.J, guitar shredders Ben Asaro and Jimmy Pena, the band consists of octopus drummer Sal Pellerito and Erik Mowry on bass. I deeply bow for TWILIGHT ODYSSEY for keeping the metal spirit allive. Thanks very much to Ben and P.J. for sending us this promo CD to review on Metal Maidens.
LINE UP: Pamela ‘P.J.’ Berlinghof (v), Ben Asaro (g, synth), Jimmy Pena (g), Erik Mowry (b) and Sal Pellerito (d, perc)
WEBSITE: www.twilightodyssey.com or www.myspace.com/twilightodyssey
EMAIL: rocktropolis@optonline.net
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: Summer 2007)
BELLE GUNNESS-
Promo 2007
NL Promo CD 2007
2 TRACKS: Defend Yourself – Everywhere
Call your band after a female Norwegian serial killer, and your name becomes well-known pretty easily. But that’s not the only reason, why this band will gain interest in the near future. They’re one of the very few all-female death metal / thrash bands in this scene, which is quite remarkable in Europe. Try to find five ladies with the same interest for extreme death metal music, and I guess you’ll be pretty lucky already. This time, they even play together in a band for crying out loud. What’s the next step? That they play some good music maybe?? The answer is a heartfelt ‘yes’! It’s difficult to judge a band by only two songs, but I really liked what I heard here. The band consists of former members of DELETERIOUS, SOULREAVER and IZEGRIM, so they already have gained quite some experience in playing bone hard death metal tunes. The songs on this demo CD are called “Defend Yourself” and “Everywhere”. The recordings took place in July 2006 under the guidance of sound enigeer Frank Klein Douwel, who worked with THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT and BORN FROM PAIN amongst others. Singer Anita shows, that women are able to grunt in a very brutal way, and the other ladies know how to play some energetic rhythms. They also use some speed changes in their music to put in some excitement. Fans of the latter DEATH might like this style. Brutal, yet technical death metal. “Everywhere” starts with a spoken intro, When the ‘slayerian’ riffs starts, there is no escape anymore. They are f*cking everywhere. When the drummer starts playing contrary rhythms, it sounds like they’re making a few mistakes. But I can assure you, that it only would sound strange to use contrary rhythms, if you’re not used to playing them. If you like technical death metal, then you’d better bow for the ladies of BELLE GUNNESS, otherwise they’ll send the Norwegian serial slayer to your home. In closing, here’s one latest addition to get everything right. Recent drummer Gerdien (who didn’t play on this demo, by the way) left the band early May and bassist Martine took over her duties. The band is currently looking for a new motivated (female) bassplayer.
(CURRENT) LINE UP: Anita Borst (v), Petra Guijt (g), Marjolein van Diggelen (g), Martine Sipma (dr)
WEBSITE: www.bellegunness.nl/ or www.myspace.com/bellegunnessmetal
EMAIL: petra.guijt@hotmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: June 2007)
DELUGE MASTER-
Down Of Death
BRA Demo CD 2005
6 TRACKS: The Beginning (Intro) – Master Of War – Soldiers Of Steel – Down Of Death – Dark World – Screams Of Crowd
We know that Brazil has got a lot of great heavy metal bands. And we regularly find out about new well-talented bands from this country. This band was brought to our attention by our good friend Rainer Krukenberg from Berlin. We want to thank him very much for making this demo review possible. What we hear are six songs with a total playing time of about twenty minutes. The intro or “The Beginning”, as they call it, is very short and an instrumental track. “Master Of War” sounds like IRON MAIDEN in their early days. Good guitarwork, powerful vocals and a steady rhythm. “Soldiers Of Steel” sounds more epical and the swords are held high on this one! Titletrack “Down Of Death” is fast and it contains some flashing axework. The IRON MAIDEN influences are gone here. I hear a band, that tries to create a sound of their own. Melodic, yet still quite heavy. While “Dark World” may sound a bit more melodic, the guitarsolos are really great. CD closer “Screams Of Crowd” is again fast and possibly the best song on this six track demo. I really like the speed change in the middle of this song, showing that we’re dealing with a very promising band, that exists for five years now.
LINE UP: Sérgio Gomes (g), Pedro Bianchie (g), Sidhia Najara (v), Elson Monteiro (b) and Rafael Ramos (dr)
ADDRESS: Sérgio Gomes, Rua dos Pioneiros, 889 Loteamento Novo Horizonte – Natal/RN Cep: 59125-340, Brazil
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/delugemaster
EMAIL: delugemaster@yahoo.com.br
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: April 2007)
HYSTERICA-
Demo 2006 + song 2005
SWE Demo CD 2006
6 TRACKS: Heavy Metal Man (2005) - Louder - Pain In The Ass - The Bitch Is Back - God Damn Evil - Wild Child
Jesus, how they blew me off my socks! This band from Sweden is ultrahot and one of the best metal bands, I’ve heard in ages. Sometimes lightning strikes you, and you’ll hear the sound that you’re desperately searching for. But every new band predicts to be the new metal sensation and all they can come up with are heavy beats, gothic shit or death grunts. This is not the case with HYSTERICA, because these six Swedish vixens deliver the goods to the max. If “Heavy Metal Man” was about me, I would be as proud as a horse with seven cocks! This song was released in 2005. In my imagination, I see ten thousands of fans throwing their fists in the air, while singing the lyrics. But the song I fell in love with is called “Louder”. What power!!! In my fascination to scream out ‘L-O-U-D-E-R-!!! and throwing my fist in the air, I fell off my chair, flat on my back. This is the real shit! From that moment on, I knew we are dealing with a very special all-female true heavy metal band here. And then I hadn’t even heard the double bass drums and the ACCEPT-like guitarsound of “Pain In The Ass”. This is what heavy metal is all about! JUDAS PRIEST-like gallopping riffs, a thundering double bass sound of a drummer, that sounds like she has four legs instead of two, plus a vocalist who knows to scream the lungs out of her beautiful body. I just needed to review this, although the stuff we created is not official. The first song “Heavy Metal Man” is from the band’s 2005 demo. The second song is a mix of five songs from their 2006 five track demo. These songs are ready for download on the bands official website. “Louder” comes as a full version, and the other four songs cut after about two minutes. “God Damn Evil” sounds as evil as the title already predicts, and “Wild Child” could be autobiographical, because this band is ultrahotwildevilsexymetalloud and in particularly, they stand proud and show no mercy for their victims. And one of these victims is trying to find the right words to show his appreciation for their true metal sound. I am not worthy to speak to these six new goddesses of heavy metal, but I want them to know that their humble servants of Metal Maidens raise their swords for RockZilla, Hell’n, Xotica, Sinderella, Bitchie and Electra. We all become HYSTERICAL, when we have to live one day without the music of this band. Hopefully, more music will follow soon, because HYSTERICA has put the heavy f*cking metal back on the map for everyone. Thanks a zillion for that, this is absolute killer stuff!!! Warning: only listen to these majestic songs, when you’re a real metalhead, otherwise these girls will eat you alive!
LINE UP: RockZilla (g), Hell’n (d), Xotica (b), Sinderella (v), Bitchie (g) and Electra (keys)
WEBSITE: www.hysterica.se/ or www.myspace.com/hystericaswe
EMAIL: femetal@hysterica.se
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: April 2007)
IMP-
The Telescopic Microscope
NL Demo CD 2007
3 TRACKS: Megalomania – Mathematician – Particles
Wow, what a great sound! It’s like a steam engine rolls out of your speakers. The three songs have a total playing time of almost twenty minutes. I hear a lot of different influences, but most of all, I hear that the band has put in a lot more metal and power in their music. In “Megalomania” we hear a mix of many styles, which makes their music almost undefinable. IMP simply doesn’t want to be put in a box with a zillion of other bands. Create a complex style of your own, and nobody will be able to put a label on you. Good thinking. Their sound is sometimes brutal and thrashy and at other times even progressive and with a mathematic precision for rhythms. In this context, they choose the right title for the next song. In “Mathematician”, I hear some TESTAMENT and SACRED REICH influences and a great guitar solo. Whereas “Megalomania” has a more complex structure (some touches of WATCHTOWER here and there), the “Mathematician” shows a bit more brutality, power and speed. But I L-O-V-E both songs!! They sound absolutely f*cking fabulous to me. “Particles” is another long track, which sounds completely different than the other two songs. It starts off very jazzy, showing a different side of this very well-talented Dutch band. Don’t expect the well-known ‘thirteen a dozen’ songs from IMP, because this comes much deeper. And in the complex structures of these three rough diamonds, you can almost touch the heart and soul of this band. Their songs may not be easy to listen to, but it gives their sound that special touch, I am searching for in hard rock and heavy metal music. Great stuff, and recommended by yours truly to everyone with ears on their head.
LINE UP: Monica Janssen (v), Fred Koot (g), Elbert de Hoog (g), Gerard Ras (b) abd Matthijs Krijnen (dr)
WEBSITE: www.imp-web.nl/ or www.myspace.com/impmetal
EMAIL: management@imp-web.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: May 2007)
POSEIDON-
Demo 2006
ITA Demo CD 2006
3 TRACKS: The Fugitive – Untied – Holy War
POSEIDON from Italy presents us their three track demo CD here. They exist for almost three years now and these three songs prove, that this band has got a lot of power. It’s a shame, that this demo doesn’t sound too well. However, their musical ideas are very interesting indeed. “The Fugutive” starts off with some good riffs. Halfway through the song, I hear some surprisingly progressive instrumental parts, showing that the band is able to play more than only the straight forward stuff. “Untied” is a lengthy ballad, which slowly transforms into a more uptempo rock song with a very good guitar solo. The voice of Valek, the female frontlady of the band, sounds a bit shrill, but this might be the result of the bad sound quality of this demo. In “Holy War” she sounds too far away in the mix, while the drums sound very much upfront. Again, the song is good, but that sound quality needs much more attention. Especially today, when technology is so much better than in the eighties, when all demos sounded like this. When the band will be able to record these songs in a much better quality, we can finally judge them on their positive aspects. I surely recognise some good ideas, but with a sound as shitty as this, it’s really impossible to find people to discover the strength of this band. Despite this critical review, I definitely would love to hear more from this band in the near future under (hopefully) better circumstances, because underneath this dusty sound, I hear a very powerful metal band with some nice musical ideas.
LINE UP: Valek (v), Wulb (g), Fede (g), Ben (d), Vlad (b, not on the demo)
ADDRESS: POSEIDON c/o Visintin, Via Vergiate 3, 20151, Milano, Italy
WEBSITE: www.poseidon-official.com or www.myspace.com/poseidonofficial
EMAIL: poseidon@poseidon-official.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: April 2007)
A NEW DAWN-
Promo 2006
NL Promo CD 2006
3 TRACKS: Ascension – Victimless Tragedy – Darkness Falls
A NEW DAWN consists of Sanne Kluiters on vocals, Monica Janssen on bass, vocals and grunts (IMP / X-TINXTION), Gijsbert Spek on drums (who is recently replaced by Peter van Toren; X-TINXTION), Josta Kluiters (Sanne’s sister) on vocals, Willem Cremer on guitar and Elbert de Hoog (MENTAL CAPTIVITY) on guitar. Wow, three female singers! And Monica Janssen is even one the best female grunters in Holland, reaching a second place in the Dutch Grunt Championsship 2006. The band started out as a project, but due to the success the band gained afterwards, they decided to take this project further on the road and become a real band. To promote their upcoming new album, they recorded three songs on this promo CD; two completely new songs and one re-recorded track. The grunts of Monica are brutal and many male singers can kiss her boots, for her aggressiveness and cruelty. The grunts are interchanged with melodic vocals, and in “Ascension”, we even hear an impressive canon vocal piece in the middle. The music of the band reminds me in a way of the good ol’ sound of IRON MAIDEN, and that’s a huge compliment, as far as I’m concerned. Monica already impressed us before, when still playing in IMP, but in A NEW DAWN, she shows that her talents have grown a lot since. “Victimless Tragedy” captures some nice instrumental moments, mixed with great emotional singing. This version is a re-recording of the version, which was on their EP “The Wisdom Of Hindsight”. This goes far beyond the ordinairy gothic metal sound of the many bands we have heard before. This sounds like art metal. “Darkness Falls” is another new song again and it shows the diversity in styles, this band has to offer. It also has a slightly more melodic approach. This promo is the perfect pre-taster of what to expect from their new album.
LINE UP: Sanne Kluiters (v), Monica Janssen (b,v,grunts), Josta Kluiters (v), Willem Cremer (g), Peter van Toren (dr), Elbert de Hoog (g).
WEBSITE: www.anewdawnband.nl/
EMAIL: management@anewdawnband.nl
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2006)
GRAYCEON-
Demo
US Demo CD 2006
2 TRACKS: Love Is – Into The Deep
How can you possible say something interesting, when you’ve only heard two songs by a certain band? Well, I will give it a try. GRAYCEON is a melting pot of various styles, blended into a style of their own. The dark sounds are topped with some lazy kind of singing, which actually fits quite well to their progressive rock sound. When you record songs, that last over twelve minutes, you would at least have to mention the term ‘progressive’ in your review once. However, to call their music progressive (oops I did it again) rock or metal, goes a bit over the top though. Therefore it’s much too different. The first song starts off like a regular rock song, but when it slowly goes on, you will discover that this band wants to stay away from the usual ways of writing a song. Add to this the use of the electric cello by female vocalist Jackie Perez Gratz, and you’ll get a blend of rock music that is very hard to describe, but which contains a high grade of innovation. At the end, there’s a nice instrumental break, which sounds like it’s not a part of the original song. It’s those small, magic twists in the music of GRAYCEON, which makes it interesting to listen to this band. They put a lot of creativity into their music. If this is easy to comprehend for the average metalfan is something I am not too sure about. But if you like the prog heroes from the past like YES and KING CRIMSON, then GRAYCEON’s demo will be well worth the try. The second song “Into The Deep” starts with a very lengthy instrumental part, in which we hear the talent of these gifted musicians again. Most part of this song is instrumental, by the way, and perhaps that’s why it sounds very exciting to me. Besides Jackie, the band consists of Max Doyle on guitar and vocals and Zack Farwell on drums. This demo is especially interesting for those, who like music that goes further than loud metalriffs alone.
LINE UP: Jackie Perez Gratz (electric cello, v), Max Doyle (g,v), Zack Farwell (d).
ADDRESS: GRAYCEON, c/o 3238A Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA.
EMAIL: jackie@grayceon.com
WEBSITE: http://www.grayceon.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2006)
SCARLET DEW-
Concrete Maze
BEL Demo CD 2006
6 TRACKS: Spoken Intro - Concrete Maze – Abstain From Solace – Hibernation – Follow The Blind – Sentinels Of Malady
A spoken intro always creates some kind of mysterious atmosphere. SCARLET DEW hails from Belgium, and their demo starts with such a spoken intro. “Concrete Maze” opens this demo CD with a powerful hard rock sound. It connects seemlessly to the more doomy “Abstain From Solace”. And that’s when we’ve explained the music style of these Belgian metalheads to you. Traditional hardrock with a touch of doom. Peggy Meesussen’s voice sometimes reminds me a of Skin (SKUNK ANANSIE, SKIN), especially in the short, higher notes. And she can take this as a compliment for sure! “Hibernation” is a more dense song, which contains some nice guitarwork. The two guitarplayers Arne Pinto de Carvalho and Jan Degeeter really understand, what fans expect from a good guitarist. “Follow The Blind” is the most exciting and innovative song on this demo CD. It starts off with a doomy, slow sound, but the sphere and mood changes in the middle of the song are a real surprise. Then the band slowly works to a much more powerful climax, including some flashing guitarwork. The demo closes with “Sentinels Of Malady”, which completes this nice thirty minutes CD. It’s a lengthy track, which opens with some stunning heavy, doomy guitar riffs and basically builds up to a similar kind of climax, like in the previous song. An absolute highlight, as far as I’m concerned. Again my compliments for the guitarplayers and the tight rhythm section. Fact is, that they saved the best for last on this demo CD. SCARLET DEW is definitely a name to remember. And although the band only exists for two years, they showed us that they are capable of playing some outstanding songs already. The band is a possible promise in the dark world of doomy metal, in our opinion. A band, that also knows to present their demo in a different (and nice) way, because it came wrapped in a DVD box with a transparent cover and the drawing of a maze on the front. A real eye-catcher, next to the dull CD covers, we sometimes get to see. Our compliments for this as well.
LINE UP: Senne Mannaers (d), Arne Pinto de Carvalho (g), Jan Degeeter (g), Wim Boey (b), Peggy Meeussen (v).
EMAIL: info@scarletdew.be
WEBSITE: http://www.scarletdew.be
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2006)
SEASONS OF SORROW-
The Awakening Demo
CAN Demo CD 2006
3 TRACKS: Across Bleeding Seas – The Forsaken Prophecies – Penance In Black
I really like the three songs, that I hear here. The epic metal of SEASONS OF SORROW sounds exciting enough and contains a lot of fast guitarwork and speed and mood changes. I hear some fairytale kind of music, such as in opener “Across Bleeding Seas”, but “The Forsaken Prophecies” sounds like more traditional metal, including MANOWAR like epic chants. It’s more brutal and I dare to raise my sword for the epic warrior metal sound of this band. SEASONS OF SORROW have already shared the stage with MEATLOCKER 7, ALLFATHER and the almighty INFERNAL MAJESTY, which is a good start for a young metal band on their way to fortune and fame. The use of a violin may draw a comparision with SKYCLAD in a way, but the music of this Vancouver based band is much more brutal than the folky metal of SKYCLAD. The lengthy song “Penance In Black” (the shortest track is longer than five minutes) gives you a good idea of what this band is all about. A massive mix of black metal, epic metal and traditional power metal with great guitarwork. The female input comes from female singer Myah Rogerson with her beautiful soprano voice. I am really looking forward to hearing a full-length album by this very promising band from Canada. And thumbs up for their CD sleeve design, by the way!
LINE UP: Jesse Day (g), Jaron Evil (g), Adrian Miles (v), Myah Rogerson (v), Evan Rogerson (d), Julian Kenchenten (b).
ADDRESS: SEASON OF SORROW, c/o Adrian Miles, 104-2523 Wark Street, Victoria BC V8T 467, Canada
EMAIL: akylore@gmail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.seasonsofsorrow.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2006)
DAGGER-
Summer Demo
MEX Demo CD 2005
3 TRACKS: Black River – Keep Running – Potential Destruction
When people still have their doubts about the metal scene in Mexico, then they have to check out this three track demo. DAGGER surprised me a lot with these three magnificent songs, that sound like they were written and played by an obscure NWOBHM band from the eighties. “Black River” will give you this feeling already. Fast, sober riffs, like WITCHFINDER GENERAL used to play them. Only a little bit faster maybe. And the dark vocals match perfectly with them. This is the description of the sound of the band in a nutshell. They continue with “Keep Running”, opening with an old PRIEST riff. This time without the high pinching vocals of Mr. Halford, but with the darker and lower voice of Gaby de la O. It definitely has the same brute power though. The demo CD closes with another magnificent metal song, called “Potential Destruction”. It’s a shame, that the vocals are a bit monotonous, but that’s just a minor detail. The songs are perfect and have this great underground metal atmosphere. They sound raw and unpolished and that’s the way I like it. Not as technical as MEANSTREAK or ICE AGE, but surely heavier than PHANTOM BLUE. DAGGER shows us, that there’s still room for heavy metal in Mexico. And they could easily be a good example of how a good heavy metal band should sound. Thumbs up for this band, who do not care about commercialism or fame. All they want to do is playing heavy metal, and that’s why we highly recommend this demo to you all!
LINE UP: Gaby de la O. (v,g), Eliza Rodríguez (b,bv), Mireya Vázquez (dr), Pablo Petrova (g).
ADDRESS: DAGGER, Rio Mixcoac 45 – 303, Insurgentes Mixcoac, Mexico D.F. 03920, Mexico.
WEBSITE: www.daggerband.com
EMAIL: contacto@daggerband.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: January/February 2006)
KARRAS-
Demo
GER Demo CD 2005
4 TRACKS: Forever War – Doom Armada – Utopia – Conquer The World
Okay, the neighbours are gone away for the weekend. It’s time to listen to the demo of KARRAS from Berlin. Doomy, death thrash metal is what we get on this four song demo CD. I like the PANTERA-like riffs in opener “Forever War”. The vocals are very brutal. Next on, is “Doom Armada”. Hear Devrim scream like a mad man in the beginning of this song. I like this one very much, because of the many speed changes, that they put in the song. A galopping beat, which easily changes into a slower doomy rhythm. The end of the song even has a short classical part. In “Utopia”, we hear the angry Devrim again, being chased by a devilish fast rhythm. The vocals in this song range from screaming to grunting. You can add angry growling to this list as well. For a band, that was founded at the end of 2004, they sound remarkably tight. They played their first gig, when they existed for almost one year and supported HATESPHERE at the famous Knaack club. Now that must have been a wild party! So far, so good. “Utopia” also has these well-known PANTERA-like riffs, patented by Dimebag Darrell, but used by many other brutal thrash metal bands. “Conquer The World” closes this fifteen minute demo. In my imagination, I see tonz of fists and hair flying through the air. Conclusion would be that this band, consisting of three wild ladies and one, even wilder, singer sure know to write some good brutal material. They know to implement speed changes in their songs and they play damn good riffs. A good demo, and a very important step forward on their way to the thrash throne. Latest news is, that the band is currently recording their debut CD, which will be released in April/May 2006. I’ll keep an eye out for it!
LINE UP: Devrim (v), Corinne (b), Ela (g), Sabine (dr).
WEBSITE: http://www.myspace.com/karrasberlin & http://www.karrasmusic.com
EMAIL: info@karrasmusic.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: January/February 2006)
NASU BLUE-
Fashionable Late
US Demo CD 2005
3 TRACKS: Blakamore – Dirty Thursday – Slower The Breath Of Thee
These two ladies are from a band called DIZEAZED, based in Indianapolis. The three songs on this demo CD have a total running time of a bit more than seven minutes. They play dark atmospheric music, which is not that easy to comprehend. People, who dig gothic rock might want to check this out. It’s rather experimental and contains some vocals and very sober instrumentation. The songs derive from the usual songs you might hear, when listening to gothic like music. I would call this an experimental mix of PINK FLOYD (Syd Barrett era) and gothic rock. “Dirty Thursday” would fit this description best, and it easily became the highlight of this three track demo for me. The music never becomes really heavy, but it’s remains dark, sober, moody, though sphereful. If this doesn’t frighten you off, feel free and check out this band. Metalheads better leave this for what it is, but if you like the more experimental side of KATE BUSH and/or PINK FLOYD, then this might be something for you.
LINE UP: Macey Blue & Dannie Lee (all instr.).
WEBSITE: nasublue.tripod.com
EMAIL: naublue@lycos.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: January/February 2006)
ANGTORIA-
Angtoria
NOR Demo CD 2005
5 TRACKS: Six Feet Under’s Not Deep Enough – Confide In Me – Suicide On My Mind – Decity Of Disgust – A Child That Walks The Path Of A Man
ANGTORIA consists of Tommy Rehn (MOAHNI MOAHNA), Chris Rehn (ABYSSOS) and Sarah Jezebel Deva (CRADLE OF FILTH, THERION, MORTIIS), and we can listen to the first five outings of their new band here. The monicker is epic orchestral music and it is no surprise, that Sarah is the chain on this release with her beautiful voice. Dry riffs and bombastic orchestral arrangements accompany this metal diva on this demo, which will give you a very good idea of what ANGTORIA is all about. No ultraloud blast beats, but pure rock music with an orchestral feel and clear vocals as biggest eye-catcher. The second song is quite a big surprise in this context, because how could people that have their roots in the metal, create a metal rock version of “Confide In Me”, which was originally done by KYLIE MINOGUE? It opens with guitar riffs that reminded me of “The Hellion” of JUDAS PRIEST in a certain way, but when the orchestra starts playing their thing, they seem to fade away into a mist of violins and horns. I am not familiar with the original version of this song, but this sounds not bad at all. The music on this five track demo CD never gets extreme though. And people searching for grunts or blast beats should stay away from this product. But if you like the sweet voice of Sarah Jezebel Deva in a different set up, than the extreme metal outings, that she’s known for, then you must definitely check this one out. “Deity Of Disgust” is maybe the most heavy song here, but the rhythm slows down a bit, when Sarah starts her singing. However, for all the metalheads amongst us, it might be one of the highlights on this good demo CD. For more info, visit their website at: http://www.angtoria.com. The latest news, that reached us is that the band has signed a deal with Listenable Records, and that their album “God Has A Plan For Us All” will be released around April 2006.
LINE UP: Sarah Jezebel Deva (v), Chris Rehn (orchestration), Tommy Rehn (orchestration).
WEBSITE: http://www.angtoria.com
EMAIL: info@angtoria.com, or tommyrehn@angtoria.com or chris.rehn@angtoria.com.
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2005)
BACKSLASH-
Backslash
GER Demo CD 2004
4 TRACKS: Horrorscope – Enter The Night – Fairy Tales – The Gambler Wins The Game
After the first seconds, I thought that BACKSLASH would have changed their sound and become one of the many NIGHTWISH clones out there. But I withdraw this feeling right away, when the double bass drum sound enters my room. Sometimes Heike’s vocals sound like she’s ready to become the successor of Tarja Turunen of NIGHTWISH, but in general, we get to hear her more rocking side. The NIGHTWISH-like operatic sound returns in the second song on this four track, twenty minute demo. But again, it sounds a lot more heavy than the gothic metal by this Finnish band. BACKSLASH are still in charge of delivering a good piece of heavy metal and they are as yet one of the very few bands, that didn’t turn their backs on their original sound. Newcomer Benjamin on guitar, shows us that he’s a good replacement for Holgi, who left the band after eight long years. You may think what you want about this German band, but I still do believe that their music sounds very fresh. It’s about time other people start to realize, that we are dealing with a bunch of well-talented musicians here, that have some good thoughts of how to write a catchy, though inventive metal song. The latest news, that we have about BACKSLASH is, that their fourth album will be released somewhere in 2006. After hearing these four tracks, I will be looking forward to it very much already.
LINE UP: Bum Bum Wolfgang (b), Heike Grebita (v), Frank Exner (g), Benjamin (g) and Jens Koehn (dr).
ADDRESS: Norbert Gareis, Obere Sandstrasse 4, 96049 Bamberg, Germany.
WEBSITE: http://www.backslash.de.cx
EMAIL: backslash@freenet.de
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2005)
FOR SELENA AND SIN-
Draining
FIN Demo CD 2005
3 TRACKS: Heal – Jubileum Of My Sorrow – Draining
FOR SELENA AND SIN hail from Finland and they exist since 2004. The three songs on this demo CD are a good reflection of what this band is all about. They mix dreamy female vocals with nice sphereful orchestra and wrap it up in a warm, cosy sound. Not too heavy, not too modest, but very easy on the ear. The female vocals of Sini brings some point of rest in the trip that you are making, while listening to the three songs on this sixteen minutes demo. Although this is just the start of a hopefully long career, we can clearly say that this band bears a lot of talent. Think about AMORPHIS without the grunts. Or a heavier version of TORI AMOS. The guitars sound loud in the instrumental parts, and they also turn back the volume knob a few times, when Sini sings her choruses. You can float away with your thoughts on their music, which is very good thing indeed, because mostly I only get this feeling with great names like KATE BUSH (although their music has got nothing to do with this multi-talented lady!!!). Best song for me was the title track and CD closer “Draining”, which also switches the powerful guitars with the more modest parts.
LINE UP: Pasi (g), Teemu (b), Sini (v), Kuha (d), Teme (keys) and Mika (g)
ADDRESS: Teemu Turkia, Pääskysentie 2 A 40, FI-48220 Kotka, Finland.
WEBSITE: http://www.forselena.net.
EMAIL: band@forselena.net.
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2005)
WINGS OF FURY-
Everlasting Emptiness....
NL Demo CD 2005
3 TRACKS: The Storyteller – Heaven’s Gate Of Freedom – (The Whispering Of) A Nameless Fear
We have introduced this band to you already a bit closer, and now we finally get to hear more music from them. And when I listen very carefully to these three songs here, I must admit that I am listening to a band that deserves to be signed by a good record label, because this is the best I’ve heard of WINGS OF FURY so far. The balance of progressive and orchestral music on one side and loud brutal riffs on the other side has received a good place in the sound of the band. Add to this the great voice of frontlady Miriam Dammers, and we can speak of a very fast rising star on the horizon of the Dutch heavy metal scene. And I do hope, that other people will finally discover the talent of this band, too. Gosh, there must be an awful lot of deaf people in the music scene, sitting behind their desk, while being clinically dead already. Otherwise they would have picked up their trendy cell phones to get in touch with this band, after hearing the first notes of opener “The Storyteller”. A song with some great musical ideas, that are not just good ideas, but are also performed very well by a band, that has matured a lot, since their last demo stuff. And if this song won’t do the trick, then “Heaven’s Gate Of Freedom” should do it. Wild grunts are mixed with the opera voice of Miriam, and the band easily switches from orchestral parts to loud and wild gallopping beats without any hesitation. The production of this demo is so good, it could easily be transferred directly to the bands’ new CD. Listen to the wild drum beats of Pascal at the end of this song. It’s like he has to run for his life, because he is chased by a four-headed dragon. Okay, you can say that these record label guys are overwhelmed with music all day long. But if I’d receive a demo like this under my nose, and I hear a song like CD closer “(The Whispering Of) A Nameless Fear”, I would remember again what my task exactly is. And that is to sign well-talented bands like WINGS OF FURY. The message will be clear by now, I hope. This is top notch material of a band, that is just one step away to becoming rich and famous like the EPICA’s, AFTER FOREVER’s and the WITHIN TEMPTATION’s in this scene. Or am I the only one here with a good pair of ears on my head, because all that remained after the music stopped was an ‘everlasting emptiness....’ MAGNIFICENT STUFF!!!!
LINE UP: Miriam Dammers (v), Tim Oehlen (g/v), Aryan Wever (b), Pascal Wilbers (d), Erno Noorlander (g,v), Marc Wassen (synths)
WEBSITE: http://www.wingsoffury.nl
EMAIL: wings_of_fury@hotmail.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2005)
X-BOW-
Warzone
SWE Demo CD 2005
3 TRACKS: Warzone – The Bastard Child Of Eve – Welcome Home
Get ready, set and go! Listen very quick to these three war songs, because they only last about eight minutes totally. X-BOW (read: CROSSBOW) present us their second demo CD, and they show us that they like their metal loud. No grunts or death metal like stuff, as you may expect from this rather violent CD cover. Instead, we get to hear some of the finest traditional heavy metal. “Warzone” is already a good opener, in which the chorus is easy to sing along to. The second song is good and it contains a certain JUDAS PRIEST feel, that I like a lot. Lena Goreguts vocals shows some resemblance to Kate from ACID, but the music of X-BOW is a bit more melodic. The true metal feeling explodes right in your face though, when listening to these three demo songs. Besides Lena, we hear a band that is quite good in putting away the musical ballast, they don’t need. It’s basically heavy metal with drums, bass and guitar, nothing more and nothing less. No keyboards, orchestration or whatsoever. Just basic heavy metal, and I must say that it’s damn fine to find such band, that is good in these things. Who needs more, when you can do it with less?? Not me. X-BOW is back with a new line up, a solid metal sound and some great songs. I hope to hear more from these Swedish metalheads in the future. When you go to war, don’t forget to bring your CROSSBOW!!!
LINE UP: Restless (b), Lena Goreguts (v), Malte (g) and Saigittarius (d)
ADDRESS: Peter Svensson, Bergsgatan 30, SE-214 22 Malmö, Sweden.
WEBSITE: http://www.crossbow.se
EMAIL: cultofthefox@monsternation.se
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: November/December 2005)
EVERGLOW-
Turn Back Time
BEL Demo CD 2005
5 TRACKS: Loneliness – Forever – Turn Back Time – Mystery – The Escape
There have been a lot of line up changes in EVERGLOW, since I reviewed their demo CD in the Dec. 2001 print issue of our magazine. The addition of different musicians did have some impact on the musical direction of the band. Their sound is still quite powerful, but there’s more melody in the songs. In opener “Loneliness” we hear a very powerful EVERGLOW and the beautiful voice of Cindy, who has a crystal clear voice. The keyboards are also a little bit more upfront in some of the songs. They are played by Jan Wagemans, by the way. In “Forever”, the speed goes up again and the many mood changes show us the progressive side of the band. While in “Turn Back Time”, the band returns to their old style including some stunning guitar riffs upfront. “Mystery” is an uptempo rock song with nice guitarwork by Guy and Alain. This five track, twenty-five minute demo closes with “The Escape”. The band definitely saved the best for last. The song is fast and loud, and still has this catchy vibe. And with the nice sound effects, it easily becomes the highlight on this demo CD to me. EVERGLOW has become a bit more melodic, but they are still a name to remember, because the high quality is absolutely there.
LINE UP: Cindy Baert (v), Alain de Block (g), Dominic Heynderickx (b), Guy van Campenhout (g), Stephan Noens (d)
ADDRESS: EVERGLOW, c/o Cindy Baert, Bijlstraat 34, B-9120 Beveren, Belgium.
WEBSITE: http://www.everglow.be
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: September/October 2005)
INFLUENCE-
Shadows In The Night
NL Demo CD 2005
4 TRACKS: The Fallen – Black Shadow – Steel Angels – The End Of Distance
From the first notes on, this four track CD will immediately grab you by the balls. Listen to “The Fallen” and hear old school metal influences of bands like QUEENSRCHE, IRON MAIDEN and JAG PANZER. The high pinching vocals of Bas are backed up by a wall of solid steel. “Black Shadow” is another great song, showing us that the band is also capable of writing some real mature epical tunes. Bands, that only like to focus on fast songs with flashing guitars will have a problem after two albums, because they will definitely run out of ideas after a while. INFLUENCE shows us there’s a lot more to this and they have written a great example of how a good metal song can sound as well. It contains a nice, mysterious intro, some mood and speed changes and a few fabulous guitar solos. And if I write solos, I mean solos, and not just one guitar riff for Christs sake! The title “Steel Angels” may sound cliché, but the music on this metal anthem is definitely not cliché at all. It may well become an audience favorite in the near future, because I can hear the crowd sing the words “Steel Angels” already in my head. The twenty-two minute demo closes with “The End Of Distance”, which starts as a beautiful ballad. The speed goes up after the intro, and these heads all start banging!! Very impressive!! Just listen to the great guitar work, AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! INFLUENCE is for me one of the best true heavy metal bands in the Dutch metal scene, and I am already looking forward to their upcoming full-length album. And if you don’t believe me, just convince yourself with this four track demo CD.
LATEST NEWS: Bassplayer Chantal van ‘t Wout has recently left the band. Her replacement is already found in Paul van Zoolingen. Welcome!!
LINE UP: Bas Assenbroek (v), Erwin van Egmond (g), Martijn de Vries (g), Fabian de Bakker (d), Chantal van ‘t Wout (b).
EMAIL: info@influence.nu or erwin@influence.nu
WEBSITE: http://www.influence.nu
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: September/October 2005)
TO-MERA-
S/T
UK Demo CD 2005
2 TRACKS: Dreadful Angel – Born Of Ashes
The music of TO-MERA is not that easy to describe. Just when you think, you’ve heard it all, the band makes some interesting sidesteps to experimental jazz-like parts, and dark gothic-like pieces. Progressive goth jazz, or something like that might be a suitable monnicker to describe the music style, that Julie Kiss and her boys present here. The two songs have a total length of about fourteen minutes, which means that they’ve put a lot of nice musical ideas into those two compositions here. After “Dreadful Angel” has slowly faded away, the next track full of experimental sounds is pulled out. TO-MERA is certainly not like all the average metal bands around. They move themselves far beyond the paved paths, and their progressive ideas are far above average. They constantly know to trick you. “Born From Ashes” starts as an emotional ballad, but when the band spreads their wings, they fly away from this balladesque style as far as possible. You constantly have to listen very carefully to follow all the moves of this band. TO-MERA is definitely a very promising band that has some great musical ideas. Check them out!
LINE UP: Julie Kiss (v), Tom MacLean (g,k), Akos Pirisi (d) and Lee Barrett (b). (Brett Caldas-Lima (additional keys), Josh (violin).
EMAIL: band@to-mera.com
WEBSITE: http://www.to-mera.com
by: Toine van Poorten (Reviewed: September/October 2005)