Been enjoying Blaze's The Rock Dinosaur quite a lot since some days which is fun classic retro metal. Thanks, Jonpo.

i saw christian mistress and magister templi yesterday.
The first has turned into a very good live band. The 2nd while good does not quite seem to be able to get the quality of their latest album across live.

I always assumed they'd be solid live but Abom said they were kinda boring. I'm pumped to get the new record in. Love the other two. I think I'll play one of those next actually.

Glad you're digging Blaze, colin. I was just jamming their full-length yesterday. I think they're special in kind of an understated way. Really classy and old school understanding of how to ride the razor between hard rock and heavy metal.

What. Christian Mistress were fantastic live, in my top 3 of Wings of Metal. Their stage presence was very cool and Christine is one hell of frontwoman! Their new album is solid, I like it more than Possession personally.

I've almost bought that Chalice tape so many times Antoine. I think I'm grabbing it my next order from Caligari. I should have known I could trust that cover.

Oh yeah, they're very good! You've read the short review I did? I'm working on a more succinct approach for some of 'em. Volume 2 will have Lord Fist, I love that Finnish trad metal scene and speaking of that, have you heard Legionnaire?

I haven't! It sounds familiar though. I'll check em.

im not sure yet how i rate the new album. I like the new magister templi more i think but live christian mistress just was better. The first time i saw them they were good but sloppy and they arent sloppy anymore.

Antoine if Legionnaire is completely out of demo tapes I'm holding you personally responsible.

Maybe I helped selling 1 or 2 because of my review LOL! Well, both demos are sold out on their bancamp page but it's not my fault if they were limited to 100 copies of something! You could just step into modernity and download them for free, bro! I can't wait for their debut album, shit will be good.

I hope the debut is good. A lot of these bands seem to run dry before the LP. I'd kill for a demo comp + new EP though. I guess they're all sold out. I figured with 100 copies each there might be a chance!

Any of you guys into Crowley (jpn)? I know the reviews are mostly shit but a lot of that seems to be in comparison to the thrash coming out in 86. Which is odd because Whisper of the Evil is pure traditional heavy metal. I'm really impressed with it. The vocalist has a great sound, really emotive. The riffs are locked in and tight, with a few out and out speed metal moments that liven things up. Their attempt at a longer epic falls a little flat, as it's basically just a ballad with a frenzied gallop tacked onto the end. But truthfully I expect that to grow on me. Really cool release! I've got some weird tape bootleg.

Okay, okay, not a lot of Crowley fans. That's cool. There don't seem to be in general.

What about the new Christian Mistress? I just got my copy (and dope ass baseball tee) over the weekend. I've only had a few attentive/isolated listens with it but I'm very pleased. The A-side seems more upbeat than they usually do, missing those tendrils of moroseness. There's plenty of that on the B-side though. It's soulful straight to the gut heavy tunes.

Crowley are alright. Some good tunes, but nothing special overall. Unfortunately there were a lot of Japanese bands like that - Seikima-II has some awesome individual songs, and a fuckin' awesome image, but unfortunately their albums are kind of all over the place. They have one of the best music videos of all time, though:

I'll have to check that out soon. I think Crowley get away with the less remarkable moments by keeping the whole album 29 minutes.

I'm looking for ballads by power metal bands (piano/keyboard is a plus).

Examples:
Orden Ogan - Take This Light









Thanks.

I had checked Crowley some days ago. Sounded mediocre to me.

Discovering new Japanese metal is cool and it makes me wonder if any album can top Anthem's Hunting Time. That's the best (out of the very little) of the country that I've heard so far. Just has a good sense of songwriting to it with killer riffs and strong, grounded vocals.

You guys should listen to Dracula. They're good.

https://heavychainsrecords.bandcamp.com ... t-midnight

Portals of Light is so gud

I just went thru a bunch of my stuff for ballads:

I can't believe how good Hessian are. Goofy artwork, goofy album title (Bachelor of Black Arts) but this album is nothing to trifle with. I can't think of any one band to compare them with but they sound like everything that was good from 76-84. Male and female vocals used to awesome effect. Driving riffs that have some of the same butt-wiggling swing as old Fate and 70s Priest. This is as authentic as it gets.

We're in a golden era for traditional heavy metal right now and I'm not talking Enforcer.

I honestly thought that album was among the worst of any album I've reviewed. It was difficult to get through. I'd much rather listen to Enforcer or something more derivative if it's good.

Can I read that somewhere? After a quick look at your review scores here I'm not surprised at all. We like different shit.

Check his signature, he's picky about what he submits to MA... much to my regret.

And yah, you're way off about Hessian, they're cool as fuck... You prefer overproduced manure like Huntress hehehehe!

Yeah, this Hessian is fucking great stuff. Really cool, groovy riffs and soulful, rock n' rollish vocals...I am digging it. Great find.

Psyched that you're digging it! I know it's good because as soon as it ends I want to play it again. Usually only happens with demos or EPs. They do a lot but they make it all fit and feel natural. Really killer line in Cloven Lady too, "Cloven Lady are you stuck in my pentagram//baphomet baby are you dancing with the damned"

Spiner202 your review doesn't reflect your post at all man. If it was one of the worst things you've ever reviewed you must only review things you love. Seemed like a fairly neutral write-up to me. I think I could have determined that I might dig 'em from your review though, so that's always cool. I'll probably poke around and look at some others.

This is like In Solitude played at a shitty dive bar. I actually think they write much catchier tunes than IS ever did though. It's pretty awesome, low-key stuff - it's got a degree of murky, underground quality I love in my heavy metal. Definitely going to buy the CD from Stormspell when they come back online in November.

It's true that I do prefer good production to bad (anywhere but in the metal scene would that be such an obvious statement ), but I find Huntress way more interesting and catchier. Memorability and catchiness are the biggest determinants of what makes music interesting to me (alongside decent musicianship). Huntress (and many others) achieve that better than Hessian.



With the exception of bigger bands, I only do review things I like. It does nobody any good to give a bad review to a small band. I do my best to offer worthwhile criticism, but the idea is that if I review something, anyone who is a regular reader of my stuff (Facebook willing) will hear of a new band, and decide based on any musical description whether or not they like it.

I will say that based on what I remember, it does beat out Iron Dogs, which I really really didn't like. Those guys are bad for the sake of being bad.



Thanks! Not sure what kind of stuff you're into, but recently I reviewed new albums from Antioch and High Heeler. Both of those should be up the alley of anyone in this thread, particularly the latter.

I mostly like the stuff you hate, I guess. Murky, rehearsal room anti-production. Vocalists who are highly questionable. Bands who play their hearts out and and worship shit like Brocas Helm, Omen, and 70's Priest. Demon Bitch's EP "Death is Hanging..." and Legionnaire's "The Enigma of Time" demo would both be excellent examples of the type of newer stuff that I obsess over, if you're curious.

I did read a few more reviews. No offense but I'm hoping you're WAY off base about Spell. I want to love that record, and I'm about to order it on tape, but Cauldron mixed with Pink Floyd sounds miserable.

I just discovered High Heeler recently. Their name is my favorite thing. Unfortunately that shit was sold out and I haven't worked on tracking down a copy yet so I have no idea what they sound like. But their name and cover art suggests I would love them.

Guys! Guys! I ordered Black Death's LP + 7" last night. It's a "bootleg" but it's so lovingly done it might as well be called a replica. I'm so fucking psyched. I don't even have a record player yet but I'm going to try to hunt one down tomorrow, if that doesn't work I'll order one. I also snagged No Laughing Matter by The Lamp of Thoth. One of my favorite bands ever and I'm painfully short on material. Sing as You Slay is one of the best EPs ever conceived.

I actually really think you'll like Spell based off of the little you've mentioned. They certainly don't sound like Brocas Helm or Omen, but they're pretty much the result of taking away everything about Cauldron that people here hate. I like them so much because Cauldron is one of my favourite bands, so anyone that sounds like them in any way is a win for me.

I would sample a few tracks on YouTube. The album itself is pretty short, so you'll know quickly if you like it.

I think most people want some kind of memorability and catchiness to their music, unless they just love entirely different stuff like drone or ambient or something.

Catchiness/memorability are highly subjective too. What others find catchy may sound dreadfully boring to me. I don't trust any song that's memorable after first listen. Most stuff I like these days usually takes several plays (sometimes 10+) to get into, so that kinda defeats the purpose of catchiness right there.

I tend to appraise music on whether it "resonates" with me or not. Normally I'd say "affects me on an emotional level", but that may be taken out of context (not exactly referring to happy, sad, etc here). I usually know pretty quick if something is worth bothering with or not.

Oh yeah, they're definitely subjective. I wouldn't go so far as to say I don't trust a song memorable on the first listen - there could still be hidden layers or depth. Or in the case of Hessian's "Cloven Lady," which is stuck in my head like a hook on a fish, it's just a classic groove and simplistic vocal hook that makes it work.

But yeah...peoples' brains process catchiness differently, etc. Apparently I was insane for not thinking Portrait was catchy, but I dunno, I could never remember those songs after they were over.

The songs I remember from first play are usually ones that suck though

Its funny how some songs I remember what they sound like, then forget, then randomly remember again. I think mood/environment is probably key here. Also, I find playing songs over and over doesn't necessarily make me remember them (sometimes the opposite actually). I find spacing things out over a prolonged period of time at consistent intervals works good.

The coup de grace for new albums for me is usually boredom (or in one ear and out the other). Or I find some unredeemable flaw(s) that all the plays in the world won't remedy.

That new Satan

Thanks to the people that posted some ballads.

Sometimes I listen to songs that are so good that rarely listen to them again. I feel like most of my favorite songs/albums/bands have some flaws. Perdition and I have discussed this before, but I also like to revisit music after a few weeks or months. I originally hated Sabaton, but I decided to pick up "Heroes" and now I like Sabaton. The Sabaton thing also goes back to my first point. Joakim Broden is not a great vocalist, but it works.

I really feel like I've missed out on new power metal (Euro and US) in the past few years, any highlights I should check out?

btw Perdition what do you think about Lightning (JPN)? Randomly decided to check out their new compilation and there's some nice guitarwork here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCqSqYn5pcc

Twilight Force - Tales of Ancient Prophecies (Enchanted Dragon of Wisdom)


Sabaton - Heroes (Hearts of Iron/Soldier of 3 Armies)


DragonForce - Maximum Overload (No More/Three Hammers/Symphony of the Night)


Jorn Lande & Tronde Holter - Dracula: Swing of Death


Kamelot - Haven

Nahsil, you might dig these:

Thunder and Lightning - Heavy, German power metal, great riffs and strong, emotive singing.



Arrayan Path - Sharp, strong, clear power metal for fans of Nocturnal Rites, Helloween, etc.



Wardrum - Any fan of urban breed's stuff will like this. Also reminds me of Crystal Eyes, Lost Horizon/Heed, etc.

Thanks! Liking the latter two the most I think.

Here's another Wardrum song for you: