Defenders Of The Faith

"Lemmy Kilmister had been leading Motörhead for 16 years by the time 1916 was recorded in 1991. Over the years, Motörhead had experienced more than its share of personnel changes -- and in fact, Kilmister was its only remaining original member. But the band's sound hadn't changed much, and time hadn't made its sledgehammer approach any less appealing. As sobering as his reflections on the horrors of World War I are on the title song, he's unapologetically amusing on "Going to Brazil," "Angel City" (an ode to the "beautiful" party people of L.A.), and "Ramones" (which salutes the New York punk band). Whether the subject matter is humorously fun or more serious, Motörhead is as inspired as ever on 1916." - Allmusic Guide

"Nightmare managed to release just two studio albums in the eighties before falling victim to "musical differences" and the band tore themselves apart at the tail end of the decade. The story could have ended there and the name of Nightmare might have vanished without trace but in 1999 the band resurfaced with original drummer Jo Amore emerging from the shadows of obscurity to front a new version of the old dream.Recruiting his brother David to takeover his vacated stool Jo set about rebuilding Nightmare's reputation brick by brick. Fifteen years on from that rebirth Nightmare are the pride of the French metal scene and 'The Aftermath' is a riveting fifty minutes of tricolour thunder!Combining elements from their traditional eighties roots with a modern drive and something of a theatrical stance they create some seriously epic soundscapes. 'Bringer Of A No Man's Land' and 'Forbidden Tribe' are first to shatter the peace with a brace of hammer blows that feel like Avantasia collided headfirst with some 'Painkiller' Priest. Vocally Jo negotiates a line between the snarling insanity of Dee Snider and a Jorn-esque genius. Their ambitious brand of power metal is grand and striking, 'Invoking Demons' a standout piece. Atmospheric build ups, electrically charged at every turn the tunes they've compiled for 'The Aftermath' are sharp and precise, each underpinned by David's hard hitting style, his beats exploding with the ferocity of Napoleonic cannons. Regimented rhythms march steadily throughout and provide a solid backbone to each metal moment.With 'Alone In The Distance' bringing a close to ten well crafted and skillfully executed songs I find myself wishing more bands would take a page out of Nightmare's book of dreams because 'The Aftermath' is exactly how a contemporary metal album should sound. It's clear and powerful but not once is it over polished with unnecessary production. Nightmare manage to retain a sharp cutting edge to their classic yet current metal sound and keep some fierce serrations perfectly placed along the way so that each track rips into your psyche leaving you bloodthirsty for more.As a new addition to Nightmare's long history 'The Aftermath' will surely be welcomed by old fans with open arms and I can imagine a few new fans being drawn in by this album and its charms too. It's stuff like this that ignites my passion about metal. Impressive stuff indeed." - Uber Rock

Digipak edition with one bonus track"Fans of gothic metal, rejoice! Tristania, one of the genre’s true pioneering bands, has just released their seventh studio album entitled Darkest White. The Norwegian powerhouse act has a storied fourteen year history stretching back to their 1998 debut – and they haven’t lost a step thanks to some much needed lineup stability. Darkest White contains all the near-theatrical arrangements, darker moods, and diverse tones that fans of the band would expect – delivered with a solid three-singer attack and technically tight musicianship. After numerous line-up shuffles, the now stable group has really hit their stride again, producing an album that clearly outshines their previous effort (2010’s middling Rubicon).Tristania has always focused on delivering solid vocal performances, and continue on with the duet of the angelic Mariangela Demurtas and the theatrical Kjetil Nordhus. Demurtas has a silky, clear voice and she remains her own singer rather than pushing towards the operatic stylings of other Gothic bands. Nordhus delivers with great emotion and depth, whether singing softly and clearly or doing some Broadway-style emoting. Guitarist Anders Høyvik Hidle now contributes a good amount of growled / death metal vocals, giving the band a bit of “beauty and the beast” sound at times. Overall, Tristania continues to deliver the clear and precise metal that has won them a worldwide following. Excellent musicianship backs up the great vocal harmonies, delivered by guitarists Hidle and Gyri Losnegaard, keyboard player Einar Moen, and bottom end Ole Vistnes (bass / backing vocals) and Tarald Lie (drums).“Number” opens the release with growled vocals and a kicky drum line, intense bass and great guitar hooks. Demurtas and Nordhus also contribute well done duet vocals making this track the quintessential example of the rebuilt Tristania. The heavy and intense “Darkest White” showcases the male vocalists. This track has a more conventional heavy metal feel to it, with strong contributions from guitars, bass and drums. “Himmelfall” is a slower, darker rock tune with hooky guitars and a great rolling rhythm line, and theatrical vocals by all. “Requiem” is a sweeping, epic soft track – very different from the previous songs. Demurtas’ voice is at its best here, and the softer keys and guitars combined with multi-layered vocal harmonies make it arguably the best track on the album. The languorous vocal lines of “Diagnosis” contrast nicely with the high speed rhythm lines, and both carry emotional intensity.“Scarling” starts off as almost an old school rocker, but becomes a moody progressive / Gothic track driven by vocals and drums. The vocal chorus, and interplay amongst the three leads is quite impressive. “Night on Earth” features great growl vocals over a simple but effective guitar riff and a real head banging rhythm line. The haunting “Lavender” is a major contrast, filled with soft guitars and mellow, soft vocals – the epitome of dramatic rock. “Cypher” is a somewhat gloomy sounding rocker with very well done male vocals and a brooding rhythm line. “Arteries” wraps up the CD, and features great back and forth between growl and clean voices along with top notch drum and bass.Darkest White is a very good release from a veteran band. The returning lineup now has a good deal more experience working as a team and has gelled into something special. Although the band’s technical abilities were never in doubt, they have addressed the weaknesses apparent in their last album – the song structure is better, the lyrics and themes more consistent, and the members of Tristania now seem more comfortable working together. They are tight and confident, once again pushing musical boundaries. Diversity in song style, tempo, and tone highlight the band’s superb use of multiple singers, and keeps the album interesting throughout. The excellent production values and strong engineering allow the many subtleties and great depths of the music to flow without seeming forced or unnatural.Highly recommended for fans of the genre." - Hard Rock Haven

"Germany's Mystic Prophecy certainly doesn't make fans wait an excessive amount of time for new material. 2011's Ravenlord is the band's seventh album in the just over 11 years since their formation. This is my first time hearing Mystic Prophecy's brand of Germanic Power/Heavy Metal and judging by this album, I've been missing out. Ravenlord is brimming with powerful riffs and heavier-than-Hell rhythm work, courtesy of bassist Connie "Connor" Andreszka and drummer Claudio Sisto. While there are some speedy tracks on Ravenlord ("Die Now," "Damned Tonight"), Mystic Prophecy show that Power Metal can indeed kick ass without copious amounts of double kicks. Slow, brooding songs like "Ravenlord," "Wings of Destiny" and the killer "Eyes of the Devil" leave you feeling like you've been introduced to the business end of a steamroller. Singer Robert Liapakis has an excellent, gravelly voice and does very little screaming on Ravenlord, opting instead for some harsher vocals that add variety to his performance. The album itself contains quite a bit of variety as well, while remaining consistent throughout. Epic-sounding songs, in the vein of Pharaoh, are side by side with Brainstorm-like Power Metal anthems. There are even spots that sound like Dio-era Rainbow in their composition. Ravenlord stacks up as one of the better albums of 2011. All fans of Heavy/Power Metal, especially those that prefer it keyboard-free, should be all over this one." - Metal Crypt

"Iced Earth are going through a bit of a renaissance period at the moment. While they do have many hardcore fans who would defend their back catalogue to the end, honestly the heavy metal titans haven’t made a truly exciting album in about twenty years; that is, they hadn’t, until the release of 2011’s Dystopia. After two decades of putting out stale and generally uninteresting meat and potatoes heavy metal, finally they had an album that managed to match up to their first few records, one with the power and energy to justify their continued status as metal heroes. Plagues of Babylon is its follow-up, and thankfully they have managed to take this momentum forward and release another great album.Opening with the title track’s marching drum beat (strangely similar to Dystopia in that regard) and ominous harmonized leads, as soon as the heavy, chugging main riff kicks in it’s clear that this album is going to be a worthy successor. Noticeably, the production is very good, giving the guitars a sharp razor edge that albums like the totally flat The Glorious Burden lacked. Mainman Jon Schaffer churns out some of the best riffs in his career on this album, especially on the raging and thrashy Democide. Some new blood is brought in with an all new rhythm section, bassist Luke Appleton helping give the album its low-end crunch while drummer Raphael Saini (who was sadly since left) punctuates the songs with intricate tom patterns and ride cymbal work while maintaining a constant driving power. Stu Block meanwhile, who debuted as vocalist on Dystopia, continues to make sure that fan favourite Matt Barlow is not missed too much, his gruff voice helping give the songs a darker edge while his highs are utilised when appropriate, never being over-used.This is hardly perfect though. Plagues is a bit front-loaded, the second half never quite managing to match up to the first, especially considering it contains two somewhat unnecessary covers. The first is Spirit of the Times by Sons of Liberty, a Jon Schaffer side project, and you can’t help but question the logic in covering your own material, especially as aside from the darker and heavier overtones it’s not massively different from the original. The second, Highwayman by Jimmy Webb, is hardly electrifying either.That said, many of the problems that plagued previous Iced Earth efforts no longer show up. The obligatory cheesy metal ballad only appears once in If I Could See You, which is one of the better ones they’ve done, and only a couple of songs have a clean guitar intro, unlike on The Dark Saga where they appear on nearly every song. Iced Earth are a band who are at their best when they’re firing on all cylinders, and that is largely what they stick to here. With it’s almost death metal cover art, Plagues is for the most part a balls-out thrill ride, and honestly might be Iced Earth’s most complete work to date." - Sound And Motion Magazine

"Have we reached the verdict regarding our future? Was George Orwell right? Has the big brother been watching over without us know, as if we were citizens in a global silent dictatorship? And what about the social networks, are those enough to be considered as the beginning of a certain end to our healthy minds? Too many questions and plenty of answers, maybe some would be left in the air for sure. Possibly the only thing left is tell about it, warn the commonwealth of probably future's dangers and hazards. Under the veil of melodic Metal, the Bavarian POWERWORLD created various perceptions of the future to come. Several views have been seen in movies over the years, others have been preserved for impending use, maybe to write songs about. POWERWORLD created the next revolutionary hysteria of the cyber world with their brand new album, "Cybersteria", via SPV / Steamhammer Records. Nothing too innovative musically, but this album, as the previous before it, is enough to encourage the listener to appreciate the band's profound talents for their version of Heavy Metal."Cybersteria", as the band's new album, served also a cornerstone for the change the engulfed the group. In 2011, after suffering from a continuous illness and bad health, the band's previous vocalist, Andrew McDermott, died. David Reece, known from his single work with ACCEPT and a constant member of BANGALORE CHOIR, stepped in as a replacement. Yet for the reason of musical differences, the ex-JADED HEART Bluesy voice of Michael Bormann, took charge of the vocal recordings. Furthermore, Guitarists, Andreas Rippelmeier (HEAVENWARD) substituting for Barish Kepic, and Keyboards players, Marco Grasshoff coming in for Nils Neumann, were replaced for the recording, possibly as new band members under the leadership of bassist, Ilker Ersin. In comparison to the previous "Human Parasite", this has been quite an uplifting experience, as this unified group generated a decisive, partly intricate and complex, concoction of Euro melodic, but heavy duty, Heavy Metal in range of ACCEPT or VICTORY, Bluesy furbished Hard Rock of whether 70s DEEP PURPLE and 80s WHITESNAKE, aside to a variety of Power Metal attributes of STRATOVARIUS and darkened features of EVERGREY. Not what I would call an explicit musical skirmish, but surly this particular one is a fresh air in a cool summer night."Cybersteria" enabled smooth catchiness just as the previous release, yet the dimmer veil that hovered above of the Blues created an atmosphere of something that might resemble sorrowfulness and emotional distress. One might also notice fear, especially within the theme of the lyrics, and Bormann's raspy tone of Jorn meets Coverdale tone of voice seemed to be the right choice to go along with. The album's rising star, "Coast Of Tears", is an aching, hooking, slow to mid tempo rumpus of emotional distress, a slight murky, powerful riffing and impressive vocals, reminded me a bit of EVERGREY but with a bleak PURPLE aloofness. "Back On Me" seemed endless at first, but ended up being highly articulate and melodic. Similar to "Human Parasite", POWERWORLD remained modernly produced in terms of sound, but for songs such as this one, nothing sounded as better. "Not Bound To The Evil" and "Like A Shadow" drenched in 80s Metal boundaries. Andreas Rippelmeier seemed quite capable of writing past oriented riffing. There have been several signatures of the 80s throughout the album, but these songs took me back to the hey days more than the others. The latter being a catchy speedster with an amazing main riff, a mere classic with an incredible lead guitar line, but with an even better was the vocal line. There you have it, dripping with the right volume of Blues, along with an expressional version of melodic Heavy and Power Metal, the pristine hysteria is delivered and here for your receiving and understanding. " - Metal Temple