The Sludgelord: TRACK PREMIERE: North Carolina Doom trio Temptation's Wings debut "I Destroyer"

The Sludgelord: TRACK PREMIERE: North Carolina Doom trio Temptation's Wings debut "I Destroyer"

Album review---Iron Maiden "Book of Souls"

Iron Maiden, one of the most beloved and biggest bands in all of music. Not just metal music, but MUSIC.  Its always exciting when they release albums and announce tours however a sense of the end is always near nowadays and a retirement announcement always seems right around the corner. Hopefully the corner is really far off.  The previous tour was a history of maiden tour from the "7th Son of a 7th Son"era, and this album sounds influenced by that tour and album to an extant. Its proggy and incorporates synths, which is good because I love that album. Like the last release "The Final Frontier" I expect a good part of this album to show up on the set list for the tour. But lets get to the album itself. It's their first double album, and just because the sheep fans who let pop culture influence their taste in bands won't understand why there is only 11 songs instead of 30 let me say to them to keep listening to Five finger douche bags or the horrendous Butcher babies bullshit. Your not going to like this album anyway.  Starting off with "If Eternity Should Fail", it sets the tone of the album and is a solid album opener much like I thought "Satellite 15....the Final Frontier" did for that album. An eerie instrumental with Bruce singing over it that blasts into a hard charging galloping riff and never lets up, an essential maiden trait that seems to never get old.. Next up is "Speed of Light" which really is much better in the context of the whole album than just a single, I thought it flowed better from the opening track rather than by itself. Its also the shortest song clocking in at 5:01.Up next is the "Great Unknown", its not bad but nowhere the best track on the album. If your familiar with 2nd era with Bruce it falls in line with many other songs going back to "Brave New World", (songs you know but cant remember the name of). The "Red and the Black" is the second longest track on the album and is pretty damn awesome, however I think a couple minutes towards the end cut out of it wouldn't have hurt any. Some awesome riffs hidden in this gem! "When the River Runs Deep" I put in the same category as "The Great Unknown". Now the title track, "Book of Souls". Such as good song and quintessential Maiden. I think its among their best title songs from their entire career("Powerslave", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Number of the Beast", 7th Son, etc..)  If this song isn't the set piece with Mayan Eddie emerging ill be really disappointed. My favorite song on the album followed by my close 2nd favorite "Death or Glory". This just has high energy live song all over it and I love the lyrics for this one. Bruce Dickinson has a way of singing simplest choruses that doesn't sound over repeated and this one will be sung by the audience loudly. "Shadows of the Valley " is next up and I thought it would be a cover of an earlier song of theirs "Wasted Years" as it borrows from the intro riff from that song heavily but it veers from that path pretty quick and is very much its own song. The following song "Tears of a Clown" is written about Robin Williams and deals with depression and suicide. A big departure from the rest of the album subject matter. "Man of Sorrows" is next and starts off like a ballad, doesn't stay that way long though. Pretty solid mid tempo song I could see being in the tour set. Now the finale "Empire of the Clouds is a whopping 18 minutes and  what a song. Penned by Bruce himself its such an epic song. You really should listen to this on headphones. Something about it just grabs your attention. The lyrics are amazing, painting the picture of everything he's singing about in your head, and the song has a shitload of layers to it. Just listen for yourself even if your not a Maiden fan, its incredible song writing, a talent that should be way more commended than it is current day. As always everyone in this band is top notch in their craft, just solid performances and playing all around from this band as in every album really.

4.5 out of 5 meadhorns

Album Review---Enforcer "From Beyond"

The metal that comes out of Sweden may be the best in all of metal right now as many of my favorite bands hail from there. Enforcer is now a part of this list. Thier latest album "From Beyond" is what makes thrash metal so enjoyable. The guitar tones, solos, double bass pounding from start to finish, screaming vocals, the energy, haunting clean intros, dark lord references etc etc. Like many classic metal albums this one starts off with pounding drums into the ferocious leadoff track "Destroyer". Its 3 1/2 minutes announcing that this album will have you headbanging till the end. Moving on to "Undying Evil" this track is so catchy and simple its almost sickening how good it is and if I had to pick one song to introduce this band to a stranger I would say this is the one. Its just a perfect thrash song. Specifically 80's thrash which nobody can argue is a bad thing(unless you love metalcore or worse deathcore, then theres no hope for you anyway)."From Beyond" is the title track that showcases Enforcers ability to write catchy and melodic vocals. The rythem under the solos in this track is really standout too. "One with Fire" is the next song and its basically a standard thrash tune, not bad but isnt a stand out track. Things slow down a litle bit on the song "Below the Slumber" giving a showcase to singer Olof Wikstrand talents as a singer and lyricist. Its not long before its shifting into high gear and gets the blood flowing once again ."Hungry they will come" is an instrumental that is a showcase of Enforcers riffage and making everything flow together so seemlessly. If your  fan of riff o rama definately dont skip over this song as its a perfect lead in to my favorite song on the album "The Banshee" This song hooked me in from the beginning. Awesome solos right at the beginning making way into very punk rock inspired thrash riff but he real payoff in this song is the chorus. Words cant describe it so just dont skip ahead too fast, youll miss some iconic song writing and riffage. Things take another slow down for the song "Farewell". Much in the same style as previous song "From Beyond"."Hell will Follow" reminded me alot of "Metal Militia" off "Kill em All" so that should speak for itself however I really do love the outro riff on this, and Finally "Mask of Red Death" closes out the album and i really like this song too. Its the slowest on the album but has such groove and its very much a story more than a set of lyrics which transforms into an Iron Maiden inspired riff happy middle section, and that never gets old! It really shouldnt be long before members in this band are known. All of them are masters of thier instruments, not over playing but just making the songs perfect. If you like clasic metal thrash or just god music definately listen to this album, then go in to thier back catalogue. Its worth a listen as well.  Catch them on tour next Winter in the U.S. with Warbringer and Cauldron

4.5 out of 5 meadhorns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4785h6JSqNc

Live Show Review-Steel Panther- Live in Knoxville 5-24-15

I love Steel Panther. These guys are seriously talented musicians hands down. I know alot of metal fans hate them or consider them a parody band but they write thier own music so how is that parody? Starting off with "Pussywhipped" the band played a mix of hits and deep cuts across all 3 albums. Long comedy routines were just as funny to watch as the 80's poses and cliches the band has down to a science while they play. The way they segway into songs from the comedy is also second to none. Its so smooth that the work they put into rehearsing thier cues has to be equal to the effort they put into rehearsing thier songs. The crowd interaction was also really entertaining. Some people obviously knew to heckle the band to get some really funny insults thrown back at them. And of course the band talking dirty to random girls in the crowd was some good laughs and made for hilarious hijinks while on stage for "17 girls in a row" and "Gloryhole". An acoustic set mid show was a welcome change to the "bitching" set(only way to describe it, watch thier youtube interviews). "Girl from Oklahoma" was definately the highlight of the acoustic section of the show and im not sure the poor girl they dragged up on stage while singer Michael Starr sang intimately to her really knew what she was in for. Which is part of the appeal of seeing this band live. They truly dont give a fuck what they say or do no matter how offensive.  If you have never seen Steel Panther and your a fan of them you owe it to yourself to see them headline in a small place(the venue held about 1000-to-1200 people). It is a good time and worth every penny!
5 out of 5 meadhorns

Setlist

Pussywhipped Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) Tomorrow Night The Shocker Hair Solo 17 Girls in a Row Gloryhole If I Was the King Guitar Solo Ten Strikes You're Out [Acoustic] [Kanye] [Weenie Ride] [Stripper Girl] [Why Can't You Trust Me] [Girl From Oklahoma] Asian Hooker Eyes of a Panther Death to All but Metal Encore Community Property Party All Day (Fuck All Night)

hiatus over!!

My laptop is now fixed and im ready to start back with the reviews and interviews so stay tuned. Also I will be doing some older album reviews I really dig and missed during my hiatus.

Interview---John Gaffney from "Sinister Realm"

I really appreciate Mr. Gaffney taking the time to do the Interview, i feel thier one of Americas best kept secrets, also if you haven' yet, check out my review of thier latest album

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Thanks for taking the time to answer these Interview Questions, which member(s) of the band will be answering them?

    

      Hi, I'm John Gaffney, bass player and founder of Sinister Realm.

 

 2. Can you give a brief history of how the band started and how the name was chosen? I really like the name Sinister Realm!

 

     Sinister Realm started around the summer of 2008.  I was in a band called Pale Divine with drummer Darin McCloskey.  When I left Pale Divine I had some songs that I brought down to them that they never used.  Darin called me and said we should do something with those songs.  We found Alex Kristof on vocals and recorded a demo.  The demo landed us a deal with Shadow Kingdom Records.  We added John Kanter and Keith Patrick on guitar.  Keith and Darin left and were replaced by drummer Chirs Metzger and guitarist John Risko.  Our first album came out in 2009, our second album "The Crystal Eye" was released in 2011 and now were just releasing our third "World of Evil".

    As for the name.  Anyone who has ever tried to come up with a band name knows how hard it is, it seems like every name in the world is already taken...haha.   I was reading a magazine talking about power metal bands and it said that they typically like to sing about things like "Dragons and sinister realms".  I thought Sinister Realm was perfect as it sounded very 80s metal and hard a darker supernatural vibe to it that I liked, to my surprise no one had used that name.

    

 3. Has the lineup been pretty stable since the beginning or has it been a revolving door so to speak?

 

   We've had the same line up now for the last two records and it is very stable.  Our first drummer Darin McCloskey left because he moved and it was just to far for him to travel for gigs and shows.  Our first guitar player Keith left because he had some other things going on.

 

 4. Was it a conscience decision to play classic sounding metal or did it just end up that way due the vocal style or guitar riffs?

 

    It was definetly a conscience decision.  I'm a big fan of 80s traditional metal and it's my biggest influence so I always wanted to write songs that had that feel of say the first Ozzy albums or Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" or classic Priest as well as other bands like Savatage and Mercyful Fate.  I'm also a doom fan, especially Candlemass, so I like to throw that influence in there also.

 

 5. Your musical influences are pretty apparent on this album, any influences that may be suprising? What would you consider some non musical sources of inspiration?

 

    Well, for Sinister Realm my influences are pretty obvious I guess, the great traditional metal forefathers like Maiden, Priest, early Ozzy, Dio, Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Savatage and Candlemass.  I do listen to a lot of other types of music, for instance I'm a big fan of Dead Can Dance.  I also like some black metal like Immortal, death metal like Death, Septic Flesh, Behemoth.  So I listen to lots of different things but Sinister Realm is about traditional metal so I stick with those classic metal influences that I listed above.

   Non musicial influences for me would be art and movies.  From the art world I like Romantic era and Pre-Raphaelite era stuff like John Williams Waterhouse and John Everett Millais.  I also like fantasy art.  I'm a fan of 70s era horror movies with supernatural or occult vibes to them  like Suspiria,  the Omen and the Exorcist.  Life in general is also a big influence as it's always full of surprises and interesting characters.

 

 6. What would you consider your biggest milestone(s) to date?

 

    Releasing three CDs of music that I'm proud of.   Playing the Metal Assault festival in Germany was also really cool

 

7. Being in a band myself I know the frustrations of booking shows, has booking tours become easier with each album or is it still a frustrating experience 3 albums into your career?

 

    It's always frustrating but the longer your around the more people you meet, the more connections you make and the more people want to help you out so in that way it's gotten a little easier.  Nothing in life is easy though, you really have to do your best and try and take control of your own destiny.  Good things happen to those who work hard, it's a cliche but usually true.

 

 8. Any plans to tour for this album in the works?

 

   Yes, we talking with some people and setting up some dates that will take us south of where we live into Atlanta, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland and probably a few other places along the way.  We also hope to set some stuff up in the Chicago, Ohio area.  Basically, anywere we can play.

 

 9. Has the band played overseas before? If so where and how awesome was it?

 

    We played in Germany last year at the Metal Assault festival.  It was awesome!  the crowd was great and the show was run very profesionally.  It was the experience of a life time so I hope we get to go back at some point in the future.

 

 

10. How strong is the metal community where your from?

 

      There's a small but loyal fanbase of metal heads in the north eastern Penssylvania area.  There's a lot of good metal bands around here who all support each other which is cool.  Metal heads tend to be like that all over, it's a tight community.

 

 

11. What venues in PA and surrounding areas would you recommend to any band touring in your part of the country? Which would you say was your favorite?

 

      It's gotten tough around here lately, a bunch of clubs have closed recently.  There's still some cool places though like Reverb in Reading Pa or in our town a place called The Gin Mill has a nice stage and has brought in some national metal bands.  We recently opened for Diamond Head there which was a really cool show.  BizR entertainment is a local agency run by a guy named Skip Horn who is very supportive of the metal scene around here, he puts on a lot of great shows and is a real cool guy who keeps metal alive in Allentown.

 

 12. Who are some other bands to check out in your area?

 

      MindMaze is a local female fronted traditional/power metal band that just put out a really great CD.  They recorded Brian J Anthony studios, the same place we've recorded all the Sinister Realm albums.  I played bass on a few of the songs on their CD.  Power Theory is a great traditional metal band from the Philadelphia area who we've played with a bunch of times.  Infernal Opera is a really cool band with a female singer that does a thrasy metal thing.

 

     

 13. What would be the official beer or alcoholic beverage of Sinister Realm?

 

      We probably all have our own personal faves, for me it's Yuengling Black and Tan and their Lager beer.  Yeungling is a beer brewed in a town not far from where we live.  It's a really good beer!!

 

14. I would like to thank you for doing this interview any parting words you would like to share with the readers?

 

      Thanks so much for the interview and for supporting heavy metal.  For more information on Sinister Realm visit and like us at www.facebook.com/sinisterrealm or www.sinisterrealm.net for general info.  Grab the CD from any of the amazon.com stores or your favorite metal distributor and one last thing....Long live Heavy Metal!!!

--

ClawHammer PR

 

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EP Review---"Night Demon"

Here's yet another amazing band everyone should check out. Their name is Night Demon and this 4 song self titled EP is some raw,ass kicking metal. There's no denying the NWOBHM is one of the best periods of metal and this 3 piece band from California does a masterful job replicating the energy of the era with a little bit of early Crue thrown in.  Although its only 4 songs under the influence of early Maiden, Motorhead, Angel Witch, and countless others from the era, are ready to pound your head but only for a short time. Its really a sampling and I hope this band releases a full length in the near future. The self titled song "Night Demon" is one of the strongest debut songs I've heard in quite a while. It just announces the band has arrived and is ready to rock your face off and drink your beer, and I really liked the way the video they made for it looked also. The other songs on the EP "The Chalice", "Ancient Evil" and "Ritual" are also some ass kicking tunes with fist pumping,sing along choruses about evil things that makes enjoyable subject matter.  Doing some research I've found they are doing 2 dates this fall opening for Diamond Head and Raven and have been offered a slot on the Keep it True fest in Germany for next year so congrats to them for those awesome opportunities. Do yourself and these guys a favor and buy this EP and go see them live if they come anywhere near you!
4 meadhorns out of 5

www.nightdemon.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrX95-9W_so