Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 7 - THRASH EDITION

Lars Ulrich is in no way affiliated to Metantoine's Magickal Realm.

Vektor – Terminal Redux (2016) / 90%

Earache Records

These guys definitely ate their cereal this morning

Vektor are possibly the best thrash band on Earth (and in the universe) and while I think this new album of theirs isn’t better than Black Future, it’s still a top notch affair. The 5 years it took them to finish this album were worth it since it’s a tremendous trip into space. Not a lot of bands can pull of a long album like this one, with its seventy-three minutes, it takes a lot of time and energy to full absorb all the kinetic energy that those four Americans deliver. Keeping the listener interested througout he whole record is a grand feat by itself but Vektor also has the ability to bludgeon them with their pristine skills.

While Vektor hasn’t changed its formula (you don’t change a winning one), there’s a lot of surprises to enjoy on Terminal Redux like those clean Lion King-esque chanting on the superb opener “Charging the Void”, the clean vocals of Disanto on the phenomenal semi ballad “Collapse” and also, the fact, that well... they did a “To live is to Die”-esque ballad. This shows that like Metallica, they have the balls and the vision to try new things. The clean break on “Recharging the Void” is probably the nearest a thrash band has come to including cheesy 90s pop influences in their music with those soulful female back vocals reminding me of the ones in Dream Theater’s Scenes from a Memory. This is possibly their best track ever.

Nevertheless, their greatest strength is those extended, rich and completely bonkers tracks and this album is pretty much just that. They’re able to convey emotions with the help of their precise and chirurgical technical musicianship and it’s extremely rare to hear a thrash band do something like that.

While I think there’s absolutely no bad or simply “ok” moment (t’s all pretty damn great), god it is exhausting. I mean, it starts with three seven minutes tracks before giving us a short atmospheric interlude. Still, I’ll never skip any parts since I want to hear the whole sci fi savagery in all its glory. Vektor deserves their fanboyism. They rule the cosmos.

Spacebook

The Paolo Girardi thrash duo!

Division Speed – Division Speed (2015) / 77%

High Roller Records

Bombing the shit out of London

This quartet from Saxony evolves in a particular thrash style pionnered by their legendary compatriots of Sodom, this genre is called “War Metal”, no it’s not raw black/death played by heroin addicts former bodybuilders, it’s super fast barbaric thrash metal about war, in this case the infamous World War II. The fourteen songs albums (including 2 short interludes) is all about dropping bombs on everyone for like forty minutes and that’s a great thing in their case. They mix the raw intensity of Motorhead and Uncle Tom’s band with a fair share of proto black/thrash goodness (think Desaster, Aura Noir) and it’s pretty damn cool. 
The sole guitar of Venomessiah (lol) is thick, greasy and alternates between those insane fast riffs and those more mid paced ones and he has those solos of the purest Slayer quality, just unfiltered aggression played with the guitar.

Their vocals are raw croaks with all the necessary venom to make Churchill trembles with fear. Their music, unlike the Normandy landings, is just freaking fun. I’m starting to dig thrash again after a long break, there’s a primal quality to this kind of stuff that you just don’t find elsewhere. It's present here.

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Wildhunt – Descending (2016) / 82%
Metal On Metal Records

Classy Austrian thrash power trio

This Austrian trio’s debut album is definitely some top notch thrash metal. Combining the epic side of Metallica or Heathen and the complex power trio attitude of Coroner, Wildhunt were able to write compelling songs showcasing all the extent of their skills and their versatility.

The 1 hour album has many different moods and is quite varied, the band shines on the long tracks such “Crystal Deth (U.M.D.A.)” or the eight minutes opener “Age of Torment” but they’re also delivering the goods with their shorter ones. I personally think mid paced thrash is the best since it doesn’t only rely on blistering speed to be effective, it relies on subtle (as far as possible for the genre) songwriting.

Wolfgang Elwitschger (Austrian names are awesome) is super talented and plays the sole guitar while handling the mic duty as well. His vocals are very good too, clean and not so high pitched, they add to this classy and distinguished flair the band has. His solos are also on the proggy/power metal side and he simply delivers on that front too. There’s also a huge bass presence, the lines are pretty groovy in“Death Spares (N)one”. All in all, their musicianship is intense, well calculated but it never overshadows their epic songs. Smart thrash, guys.

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Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 4

I'm back with 4 fresh bounties to deliver, there's two speed metal bands from Germany, one doom/stoner band from Finland and a progressive metal about cats from the US! None of those guys are robots...

Tailgater – Rehearsal Demo (2015) / 75%
Independant: Bandcamp

Raw pure german steel

There’s some things in rehearsal demos by heavy metal bands that you just can’t find in well produced albums, it’s primal, raw and you can’t hide your faults with the help of modern technologies and some studio magic. That’s what I liked in the two releases of Finland’s Legionnaire and that’s what I liked in the debut of Tailgater. The five songs are fast and fun affairs preaching the bibles of Priest and Maiden. Fast twin guitar melodies, high pitched & fist raising choruses and thunderous drums, it’s a super legit demo full of well placed nostalgia. Songs like "Messenger of Emptyness" possess this sense of epicness that's hard to achieve.

Sure, the live rehearsal feel won’t please everyone since its recording quality is lacking but Tailgater is a cool discovery and they’re a band with a lot of potential even though they’re obviously not reinventing the wheel nor trying to do so.

Tombstoned – II (2016) / 80%

Svart Records

Tony is reviewing Finn doom again

The sophomore full length from the Helsinki trio is quite interesting. Their doom/stoner blend is tighter than on their self titled effort and there’s some great influences thrown here as well. Outside of the obvious psychedelic background (just look at the artwork), there’s sort of a deathrock/goth influence, especially in Jussi’s clean, mournful powerful vocals. The way the vocals were recorded and their presence at the forefront of the production is perhaps the thing I liked the most about II, the lyrics are easily understandable and it’s a good way to differentiate yourself from the countless 

Electric Wizard wannabes who hide the fact they can’t sing for shit under a ton of unnecessary (or in their case, maybe it’s necessary) reverb. Don’t worry though, the bass is still thunderous and the guitar tone is savage enough to compete in the best league the genre has.

The album almost reminds me of Sister, the masterpiece of the now deceased In Solitude in its ability to mix its core sound (in this case doom) with estranged elements to create a potent and groovy formula. I wasn’t expecting anything fantastic with this album but I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is. It’s far from generic but still has enough familiar elements to please most fans of the genre(s).

The Cosmic Kitten Project – The Kitten Galaxy (2016)  / 73%
Independant: Bandcamp

Catnip flavoured progressive metal

I’m not sure if these guys are trolling or not but they actually wrote a four page story about space cats (or space kitten) and their “kittendom” or whatever, and it’s as infantile as doing a concept album about My Little Pony (check out Glacier Frost if you want to have some fun or cry). Anyway, even though it’s this peculiar element that lead me to review their first extended play, they’re not bad at all. I must say that I’m happy that they’re instrumental and that there’s no lyrics about space cats, I’m fine with Slough Feg’s Traveller as far as silly sci fi concept albums are concerned, thank you very much. John Petrucci and his dystopia concept album/musical comedy where “music is outlawed” and there’s a “chosen one” can go fuck himself.

Musically it’s fine, their progressive metal hits the spot without relying on djent modernism and masturbatory shredding. There’s a lot of keyboards and programming but the guitars are atmospheric and the riffing is decent. The compositions are well done and they offer a wide variety of moods and tempos throughout the three songs. Even if their concept is ridiculous, they’re good musicians who possess enough musical knowledge to craft intricate spacey prog metal numbers.

Septagon – Deadhead Syndicate (2016)  / 83%
Cruz del Sur Music

Efficient & clean speed

When I discovered that Markus Becker, the singer of Atlantean Kodex (one of my favorite current bands) also used his pipes in this band, I had to check it out. Compared to the classy epic doom/heavy metal of his other band, Septagon (awesome name) plays an awesome mix of speed metal, some power and heavy metal and sprinkles of thrash. His clean voice fits the distinctive style like a glove and he’s not overused, he’s such a great singer and he’s showcasing all his versatility with this record.

It’s technical with lots of expertly played guitar solos with a semi neoclassical vibe, it’s also intense as hell but knows when to slow things down and give us the time to catch our breath (listen to “Henchman of Darkness”). The songs are loaded with stuff, the four songs ranging to five to six minutes give us a lot of ideas to chew on.

Like many thrash bands, they took the social issue approach for their lyrics like the 1984 themed track “Unwanted Company”, they’re not too dissimilar from Anthrax (check out the last track “Secret Silver Panorama Machine” or Megadeth on that front.

Occult Burial – Promo MMXV (2015) / 75%

Evilness from the Capital

Occult Burial is a power trio from Ottawa and they play a vicious, old school sort of metal that will turn the dead into nightly shadowy creatures. The three dudes (including the drummer of super good trad metallers Iron Dogs from the same city) are on the edge of releasing a full length or, fuck I need them to!

This demo is about 10 minutes of pure first wave black metal fury with all the rightful elements you can expect from a band worshiping the tape-trading days of the 1980s. It has Cronos-esque vocals intertwined with the lovely “ughhhh” from Tom Gabriel Warrior's book of proto-extreme metal, evil thrash riffs from hell with solid but brief soloing and fast, backbeats drums. Think of a even more primitive Aura Noir and you're not far from what these dudes managed to sound like. It's super fast black/thrash with some heavy and speed injected into its undead organs. The production is raw but adequate and the riffs are distinct and hellishly heavy and uncompromising. I've seen the band live last summer and their energy was easily transposed to the stage. Bullet belts, alcohol and Satan is always a good mix.

Signed on the great Irish label Invictus Productions, Occult burial was born to rip you a new nasty hole. It's fun and wonderfully retro while never forcing the issue. They just love Bathory's debut so much and it's apparent and frankly, there's nothing wrong with that. Solid demo from these Canadian headbangers. Get it for free on Electric Assault's Bandcamp page.

Check it out

They're playing an evil gig in Montréal soon, here's the event page.

Moros Nyx - Rite of Rebellion (2015) / 77%

I discovered this band due to their presence on the awesome American true metal festival Ragnarokkr (that I'd like to attend one day) and due to their awesome artwork, I decided to give them a chance. The cover art of this demo (released digitally, on vinyl, on tape and on CD) is pure trad metal pushed to its cheesy apex. It looks like a scene out of a corny (but so enjoyable) fantasy/science fiction roleplaying game (don't forget to notice the pistol at the side of the knight) and I'd like to print the cover and color it! It reminds me of the amateurish charm of fellow Americans Realmbuilder, in any case it's much better than CGI/computerized art.

Musically, the Chicago natives are uncompromising in their revival nature. It's a mix of virile speed metal with heavy metal, power metal and even hard rock goodness. They preach at the altars of Dio (see both his solo career and his involvement with Rainbow), Helloween but also the old school attacks of US based Savage Grace or Brocas Helm. It's raw, melodic stuff but it's not sugary like modern power metal, it's fast, aggressive with high pitched vocals with some added venom to them. Some vocal melodies are straight from the Ronnie James book of wonders and Matt Papai (also guitars) is an apt vocalist and there's even an extra epic feel with some chanted background vocals (see the excellent track Child of the Dream)

After a short instrumental introduction with sorrowful leads and a horn preceding the battle, we get three blistering rippers full of catchy guitar leads and riffs. It's pretty well produced for a demo, it's groovy, the bass is present and enjoyable but the drums could be a bit more metallic and heavy. It's not adventurous, it's carefully written trad metal for the true fans of the genre. They shouldn't be expected to release some avant garde fuckery anyway. Even though it's called “Rite of Rebellion”, they're not rebelling against the old ways, they're embracing them. It's perfectly fine since their influences are solid.

The band has a lot of potential based on this demo, it was released more than a year ago so I bet they're working hard on a their debut full length.  Anyhow, this is an impressive first release from Moros Nyx and y'all should listen to it.

Bandcamp - Free download
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Ranger – Where Evil Dwells (2015) / 83%

Gotta go fast for Satan

After two pretty good extended plays (2013 and 2014), Ranger from Helsinki are back with their debut full length and they're ready to tear you a new asshole with it. The Fnns, like Carl Hagelin who plays with the New York Rangers, are hellishly fast. They're even trying to make you summon Satan, check out “Black Circle” with its occult “Say you love Satan” line repeated numerous time at the end mimicking the infernal opener of Hell Awaits (happy thirtieth birthday, by the way!) This song is about the famous Acid King affair, a pretty metal subject, to be fair!

Speed metal can be a hard genre to define, sometimes it's wrongly used or simply added to another style to be more precise. For me, speed metal is the clever mix of heavy, thrash and power metal into a super fast (that's a given) lunchable. It's also often more melodic than your usual thrash metal. Ranger are one of those bands, they play bombastic speed metal with dual lead guitar solos and an overall badass attitude.

The album is the perfect length for its style, a bit less than forty minutes and it works so well for the ripping approach they favor. Nourished by the Canadian two headed school of speed, Razor and Exciter but also by Americans Agent Steel or even Megadeth. There's legitimate Mustaine influences in the super high and screeching vocals and some of the more politically inclined lyrics (see the opener “Defcon 1” without any of the nutcase propaganda of ol' Dave. Dimi's vicious vocals fits their well written and over the top lyrics. 

It sure is fast but the dudes know how to write interesting long numbers, the title track is even an ambitious ten minutes track (not totally unlike some of Blood Tsunami's stuff). It succeeds at keeping things relatively fast and interesting with its military beat and its excellent leads all over the place but it's hard for anyone to pull off a truly compelling track like that, it does sound like a bunch of songs mashed together. Still, that's a minor concern and the overall pacing of the album is quite okay. A bit weird that the single “Storm of Power” is finishing the album though but it ends on a high note as it's ripper. 

Even if they're fast as fuck, they take their time to blast your head with a wide array of riffs and they remember to unleash some mid-paced goodies from time to time. Their musicianship is strong and despite the two guitarists being recent acquisitions to the team, a certain chemistry is present. The drums are thundering and doesn't rely on blastbeats to be in your face, there's some cool bass licks and the instrument is more present than in your usual speed/thrash/power metal band. The guitars are quite incisive and the overall production suits their needs like a ten ton bulldozer. 

They took their time with their debut full length and it shows, I think they achieved the sound they wanted and while it's not original, that's irrelevant due to its awesomeness. It's retro metal, it's well done and they preach and worship the right entities. It's never boring and it's fun, evil metal that doesn't take itself too seriously and that's always a plus for a genre like theirs. Sure, Where Evil Dwells doesn't reach the level of quality of their classic influences but

It's pure energy with blistering solos. Alongside Speedtrap, they're the best speed metal representatives of Finland. Gotta go fast!

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Wings of Metal 2014 Review / August 29th and 30th @Katacombes, Montréal with The Skull, Holocaust, Blood Ceremony, Bölzer, Dream Death and more!

All live pictures by Wayne William Archibald unless credited otherwise.

Day 1

Prelude

The first day of the festival could be summed up by the word “occult” but the atmosphere was far from being that way. It was very cordial, without pretension and musicians and fans alike were meldling in the great and cosy Katacombes on Saint-Laurent boulevard. Out of the six bands

Phobocosm are local death metal heroes so I was already widely familiar with their stuff as I've seen them live three times. I decided to save my strength for the rest of the weekend! They'll release their debut album in late September (Toronto and Montréal) if you like your death metal to be inspired by Immolation and Incantation!

Part 1: New York Menace

Occultation was then the first band on my schedule. I enjoyed their set back in 2012 with the superb lineup of Cauchemar, Borrowed Time, Metalian and Demontage (many members of these bands were in the attendance of this edition of Wings of Metal!) but I thought their debut album Three & Seven was a bit lackluster. Their upcoming one is quite excellent so I was expecting a good set from these guys. Their blend of occult doom mixed with some black elements (courtesy of their guitarist Ed Miller, leader of Negative Plane.) I really like their riffs and the prominent bass of this black clad blond sorceress but the vocals were really mediocre this time around, the singer had sound issues and she didn't sound good at all. Miller sang one of the songs and his clean vocals were excellent so I don't really know what happened, maybe it was simply a bad day? I really dig these guys no matter what and I was happy that they replaced the decent but nothing special Irish band Zom. Follow these guys and don't forget to check out their new album Silence in the Ancestral House when it will be released in October.

7,5 or 8 leather jackets out of 10

Natur were next with their awesome NWOBHM inspired heavy metal garnished with some doom metal here and there. I've seen their previous Montréal gig (with the mediocre Voor) and it was very cool to see them again and this time, it was the full fledged band and not session members (the singer/guitarist and bassist weren't there the last time). Tooth Log (session drummer for Occultation) played two sets in a row but he's a young dude who lifts so no problem there! Natur has awesome leads, energetic riffs and a good albeit simple vocal presence. They have an upcoming album scheduled for this year, I believe

8 “old metal” out of 10

Part 2: Kvlt Swiss Offering

Bölzer were probably one of the most expected band of the festival and with good reasons. The Swiss duo (guitarist/vocalist and a drummer) played more than one hour (so yeah, all their discography and some new stuff that was never played life before.) It's pretty awesome to see a band generating so much hype without a full length album out, it means that they must be doing a lot of things the right way. Their black/death metal sound (albeit with clear influences from European legends like their local heroes of Celtic Frost or Bathory) is mixed with well thought dissonant modern influences and this combination creates an unparalleled atmospheric wall of sound. I thought that the screeching feedback between the songs was beyond annoying but I guess it was part of their game. Even without a bass player, the duo is still quite impressive and I believe the release of their debut album will cement their status as one of the most important band of their generation. Great merch (I got the sparkling lime round patch with lightnings on it!), interesting personas, great music, Bölzer has everything to become big and their two sets at the latest Maryland Death Fest proved that.

8,5 pagan sunwheels tattoos out of 10

Pic by Yannick Marchand

Part 3: Trad doom (old and new)

Blood Ceremony were supposed to play the first edition of Wings of Metal last year but their singer Alia O'Brien got sick and they had to cancel. The Toronto band plays Montréal often but it's always a joy when I see them (third time already). This was probably the best set I've seen, they played a varied set encompassing their three full lengths (see the setlist) and I was more than happy that “Lord Summerisle” (sang by their bassist Lucas Gadke) was featured as it's my favorite track from their latest album The Eldritch Dark . Their fifty minutes or so set was like butter on bread, it was nice and the whole band was in great shape. Alia was moving a lot with her fringe decorated vest and her flute and keyboard skills are up through the roof.

8,5 magicians out of 10

The Skull were the headliners of this evening and they rocked hard. Composed of three ex members of the seminal American doom band Trouble, they're in my opinion the real deal since the original singer Eric Wagner is with them. Their performance was divided between two sets, the first being the whole Psalm 9 (“Assassin” was so good!) album and the second being other songs including some new ones from the upcoming debut of the band. While I like their dual guitar approach and their fast paced formula, their gig was a bit redundant from time to time but that's probably just me being a grump who likes slow stuff! Their two guitarists were really damn good, no need to have Franklin and Wartell since they released a sub-par album with Trouble last year. Wagner killed it. He was boozing a lot on and off the stage and its declination of Christian (but dark) lyrics was quite powerful even though he's halfway through his fifties!

Two great sets by some legendary musicians, it was an honor to see one of the doom metal forefathers play in my city.

8,5 lord is our saviour out of 10

Day 2

My anticipation for the second day was greater since it was the first time I was gonna see any of the seven bands featured on the bill. The show started early at 18:00 and I was there to see the first band! The gig was a bit more varied this time and it had diverse atmospheres that were appropriately combined.

Part 1: North American Venomesque & thrashy heavy/speed metal

Gatekrashör from Calgary, Alberta opened the gig and they rocked hard. They were perhaps the only band I decided not to check out before the festival as it's always fun to have some surprises. The traditional heavy metal melded with speed metal. They studied their shit thoroughly since you can definitely hear the fun silliness of Metalucifer, I mean they have nicknames like Steel Avenger and song titles like “Heavy Metal Rangers”. They only have one guitarist but he fucking shreds. Their singer is fucking awesome and has a bone necklace and belches between the songs, that's a perfect frontman in the purest Piledriver tradition and while his range is nothing impressive, he's rough, more than adequate and he's an awesome front man.

8 hevy metal 'rills out of 10

Bat (believe it or not, they're apparently the first and only band called Bat in the metal universe) were pretty cool. A speed metal band formed by the leader of Municipal Waste and the guitarist of the up and coming heavy metal band Volture, the power trio was impressive and their fast compositions were nice to hear. Their drummer (Felix Griffin, formerly of DRI) couldn't cross the border so they used Al Biddle (Chainbreaker, ex-Cauldron) as he was in town, he learned the songs in a day to my drum noob ears, he was still very tight! They played a Venom cover of “Live like an Angel (Die like a Devil)” for the few who wondered who was their main influence. These guys are there to play what they want, it's fast and fun like it should be.

7,5 bat signals out of 10

Part 2: Ethereal Doom Moment

The Canadian epic doom band Funeral Circle played my most anticipated gig of the festival, their doom inspired by the likes of Solstice and Solitude Aeternus is simply awesome. Jean-Pierre Abboud (singer of the excellent American heavy band Borrowed Time) is now their vocalist and he's by far the best one they ever had. He came on stage wearing this hooded monk robe and sang the first song with it before reappearing dressed with his Saint Vitus leather jacket! The two guitarists were great at creating interesting landscapes full of slow and faster riffs and intricate leads. Their leader recently moved to Montréal so it will be fun to have another local doom band than Cauchemar!

Read my review for their self titled full length: Click me!

9,5 black colossus out of 10

Photo by Carolina Vanegas

Part 3: Pittsburgh Crushing Kvlt Doom Duo

3.1: Death doooooooooom!

Up next were the American cult death/doom band Derkéta widely known to be one of the first and only all female death metal group but nowadays their drummer is a man! They were decent but Sharon (guitar, vocals) had a sore throat and her vocals were almost inaudible, this plagued the set for me unfortunately. They played a good mix of old and new stuff (including a new song called “Darkness Fades Life” and their slow to mid paced crushing demeanor was pleasing to see.

8 metal goddesses out of 10

Sharon Bascovsky, badass death metal lady

3.2: Thrash dooooooooooom!

Well known for their seminal 1987 album “Journey Into Mystery”, Dream Death reformed recently and released an excellent sophomore album. Their set was a good mix of two tracks from this album and the classics from their debut including “Black Edifice”, “Sealed in Blood” and “Dream Death”. Their Celtic Frost inspired melting pot of extreme metal is awesome and they sound more like the Swiss band than Triptykon ever will. It was also very cool to see Mike Smail play, he was the drummer on one of my favorite albums of all time (Cathedral's “Forest of Equilibrium”.) I had a great time with this bunch of veterans who still has the passion to play metal like when they were in the early twenties.

9 feasts of the living out of 10

Part 4: Old School Heavy!

3.1: The French speedsters of ADX

For their first time in North America, the classic French band played almost all of its excellent debut album “Exécution” starting the set with “Déesse du crime” and ending it with “Caligula”. It was pretty much the perfect location for them to play in the new world since they're a French speaking band, they even got offered a Québec flag with their logo on it and they were clearly touched by the gift. Their guitars were mixed a bit too softly but their sound was mostly fine, it was catchy and fun, their choruses were by far the most memorable of the festival. CALIGULA! CALIGULA!

8,5 cousins from the old continent out of 10

Thanks to my buddy Antoine Desgagnés for the setlist

3.2: The classic NWOBHM of Holocaust

The last band of the two day festival (before the after gig of Sunday that I didn't attend) was Holocaust from Scotland. I knew they were gonna play the whole The Nightcomers album (due to Annick Giroux's request) album beforehand but I was hoping from some songs from their underrated progressive years (especially some from Covenant or The Courage to Be) and while I only got (“Dance into the Vortex” from their The Sounds of Souls EP ) it was a great set and I understand they wanted to please the traditional fans first and foremost. “Death and Glory” still has one of the best riffs ever and “Heavy Metal Mania” is just so fun. John Mortimer dedicated the aforementioned prog song to the memory of Denis D'Amour of Voivod while Michel Langevin and Denis Bélanger were in the crowd. The guitar tone was spectacular and the rhythm section was optimal, they had one of the best sound I heard at the Katacombes, the vocals were crystal clear and the solos were masterful. A great way to end the two days of madness!

9 “I got heavy metal music in my blood” out of 10

It was a very great festival and possibly the apex of my metal summer. I already can't wait to see what Annick (singer of Cauchemar if you didn't know) will get for the third edition in 2015. My fingers are crossed for Slough Feg personally but I'm sure it won't disappoint.  I have nothing more to say, really... Oh perhaps, look at this useless chart I made because I'm a nerd! 

Prajna – The Summer Eclipse (2014) / 94%

Bogota's Hidden Diamond

Andrés Felipe Murillo is a young Colombian man, he dresses well, he's into anime and Japanese video games like Touhou and he's a terrific musician. I'll have to admit he's a good friend of mine but this won't taint my judgement! I'm objective in the face of awesomeness and the first full length of this solo project is certainly phallus inducing.

Prajna used to be a full band but he always was the composer until he decided to davemustaine a little and fire everyone. He can do almost everything on his own and considering the Colombian scene is not very inclined to his genre of music (it prefers dumb thrash apparently) it doesn't quite matter if he plays gigs or not. Murillo composed everything and played all instruments on this debut, his first release since the impressive EP  “Lost in the Void” released three years ago. It took him a while to finish since he's also a full time student but it's top notch and well worth the wait for his small circle of fans throughout the interwebs.

The ten songs, forty six minutes full length is an impressive unique slab of heavy/power/speed metal and it really sounds professional even though there's no label support or anything of the sort. The drums were programmed but it's no biggie, the results can be of high quality nowadays and it's not the end of the world in my opinion. The production and mastering are pretty good considering the DIY approach, lots of time was dedicated to it and the mixing support of Charles Wong (another friend of mine) really helped the record. The riffs and solos are very well produced and nothing sounds wimpy and shallow.  Quite the contrary.

The dude is a very talented guitarist and he proves it throughout the whole deal with the numerous excellent solos (such as the catchy lead opening of “This World (Is Broken)” or the raw instrumental energetic finale of “Nowhere”.  It has a good amount of cool riffing too, it's fast paced, ultra melodic without being too cheesy and saccharine. The album is quite diverse too, it has some progressive elements like “Heart on Fire” with its ethereal piano background reminding me of the later modern stuff of Dark Tranquillity. The main influence here is Japanese video game music and anime though, it's mixed with the traditional metal sound to create something awesome and inspiring. Since I have basically no kawaii knowledge except for like Full Metal Alchemist and Cowboy Bebop, I can't truly get the references but eh, it's special and interesting. It's not quite apparent and I only know it's there because he told me but someone who isn't familiar won't get the Japanese references and it won't interfere with their enjoyment.

Murillo is influenced by the good stuff, like early German speed metal and American power metal. John Arch (Fates Warning) is definitely one of his influences vocally and that's always appreciated even though Arch can't be beaten. While his delivery is perhaps the only negative thing I can find here, he's not bad, he's simply pretty unconventional. His high pitched thick Spanish accent can be grating for some but I think it can be lovely and adorable when you get used to it! His delivery is high pitched, powerful but juvenile but no one can accuse him of not being true to himself. Even if he's not a top notch vocalist, his vocal lines are quite superb, he's not only a guitarist, that's for sure. As long as he doesn't get kidnapped by the FARC, I'm sure he can improve his skills! His English is pretty much perfect so the lyrics are well written, definitely better than many European power metal bands.

Catchy, fun, well written and honest metal is what is delivered here, through the immense, obscure talent of its composer, Prajna shines. Kiss the cook because this is tasty! It's a great mix of emotional shred, riffy speed metal, melodic power metal and it has many refreshing ideas. No lines snorting there, only legit stuff induced by hard work, true talent and vision.

Get the album for free on Bandcamp, pay more than 15 bucks to get a physical copy.

Andrés Felipe Murillo

Call of the Wild - Young Wolves (2013) | 77%

Rooooaaaaaaaar

This young pack of wolves from Toronto released this EP back in February are a pretty enjoyable traditional metal band with very awesome chops. Led by the charismatic guitarist Cyndi Zhang who's as sexy as talented, Call of the Wild once again proves that Toronto is the heavy metal Mecca of Canada. The Chinese immigrant has composed everything in the purest Steveharriseque version and this really helped for the cohesive feel of the extended play.

The four songs, seventeen minutes release is driven by powerful & precise leads delivered by Zhang and Tom Stanley who are a quite nice guitar duo. Bordering on shred, the solos are definitely one of the highlights of their sound. They got nothing to envy to the legendary bands and compared to many “OH MY GOD SOLOHS!” bands like Dragonforce, their solos are substantial and they have this natural vibe. Their riffs are very solid as well, it's pretty damn fast and they keep things interesting during the numerous leads. The beginning of “Young Wolves Rising” has these pretty awesome leads, encompassing epicness within its traditional length. The band has the skills to pull off more intricate material and I wish they'll expand their sound in this direction. They could certainly pull off six or seven minutes tracks with ease.

Not as vintage as their city brothers of Axxion or Phantom, the NWOBHM influence is still there but the band has an unequivocal modern feel a bit like Skull Fist has. There's a big speed metal influence too CotW's vocals are not as sugary and not as high. Power Serg's delivery is forceful and manlier than some other singers of similar bands who sometimes could be mistaken for eunuchs if their jeans weren't tight. He's pretty good and sings the decent, entertaining lyrics written by Zhang, he's yet another very good tool that the band has.

The four songs are all around the four minutes mark, there's no fillers and no ballads. The catchiest track is the shortest one “Hang 'Em High” with its short bass lead at the start. The Canadians are very tight and not only the lead guitarists are competent, the rhythm section as well.

Unfortunately, In a really competitive heavy metal market, nothing really stands out in their music, nothing sucks either. It's generic but very professional and worth the time if you're a fan of the genre and definitely worth what you can give them on Bandcamp. Solid stuff but I feel they have yet to find their true identity, let's wait for their first full length, I'm sure it will be pretty awesome.

CotW on Facebook

Droid - Malfunction demo (2013) | 77%

These are the riffs you are looking for.

Droid is a new band from Ontario and their first demo is a very cool piece of metal. Hailing from the Voivod land, they can be qualified as an apprentice to the seminal band but they're so much more than that.

You can almost guess what it's gonna be with the simple yet mysterious cover art. I have no idea what it' supposed to be, an alien with some kind of gun, a weird nose with a potent infection? I don't know but it's cool and evokes the early art of Away, you know before he tried his hand at computerized stuff and it turned to shit? The green tape gives you a good hint that you'll listen to something more intelligent than your average thrash band. The logo, damn cool, reminds me of a thrash version of fellow Ontarian black metal Sylvus. A weird thing to say but I love coincidences!

Much more interesting than most rethrash bands wearing Municipal Waste caps, they mix the idiosyncratic approach of Piggy's distinctive riffing with a catchy speed metal approach and some progressive overtones. It's quite melodic, both in the instrumental and the vocals department, it's not as brutal as a band like Sacrifice. Nevertheless, it's not as progressive as new prog thrash gods Vektor. It has this heavy/speed metal edge found in many Ontarian bands (Axxion, Midnight Malice...), while not NWOBHM worshipers themselves, the traditionalism of the scene is felt within their solos especially in the latest track “Ceres Solution”. The old school feel of the production helped the songwriting in my opinion. It's not as bombastic and modern as Striker's latest album and it's good that way. The raw quality is good for the cold approach of the trio. Hard hitting riffs and heavy bass lines are your friends here. The release is fast paced, 4 songs of 3 to 4 minutes and the songwriting is quite good for a first demo.

Their sound is a fresh mix of thrash and speed metal with some progressive influences from time to time. Jacob Montgomery leads the charge with his guitar playing, he has good chops and while a second guitarist could be needed sometimes, it's not a serious issue. His vocals are varied as well, from high clean vocals to a more raspy harsh thrash voice, the second track “Zenith in Red” showcases both styles. I prefer the clean approach since I think it gives an original sound to the thrash/speed songs. What would be fun to hear is a full blown mix of early Voivodian thrash and Canadian NWOBHMish speed metal, the best of both world, I would say.

A very promising band indeed, get their tape, it's green and stuff.

 Get their tape and/or stream the demo here.