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  • "On 'Possession', CRYSTAL VIPER decided to cross the borders of Traditional Heavy Metal, and while the fast and melodic songs bring references to such classic bands as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio or Jag Panzer, the epic and dark parts bring comparisons to acts such as Candlemass, Mercyful Fate or even Bathory. The album's artwork, made in a very classic and old school Heavy Metal style, has been painted by Michal Oracz, the famous Polish author of RPG and board games (incl. the world bestseller Neuroshima), and includes many impressive details which will be noticed by fans after listening to the album. Produced by Bart Gabriel (Sacred Steel, Sabaton, Burning Starr)."
    $15.00
  • "I've always been rather impressed Mastercastle, the Italian melodic metal band created by expert guitarist Pier Gonella and fronted by the powerful vocals of Giorgia Gueglio. They return with bassist Steve Vawamas and newcomer the respected drummer John Macaluso (Ark, Yngwie Malmsteen, and James LaBrie). The strength of the band has always been the ability to create great sounding melodic metal songs with a rock groove, besides merely showcasing Gonella's amazing fret work.That's what you get on their fourth album, On Fire. It's a worthy title: every song here will burn up your speakers with rocking melodic metal. That's not to say that Gonella doesn't get his turn. There's two instrumentals, The Final Battle and Almost A Fantasy, where he displays his significant guitar skills. And they're in the other songs as well.You'll note that the other songs have some metal or reference to metal in the title. Lyricist Gueglio intended to write a concept album around metal, metallurgy, and alchemy. But she discovered that the words turned more sentiment and emotion, "the passion of making music in a difficult world." Considering the strength and pure entertainment value of these songs, any band could use a bit more of her passion. The songs with that burning rock groove leap from speakers with huge melodies and vocal arrangements. Notable are Silver Eyes, Leaden Roads, Platinum, with Giorgia's most haunting vocals, and the hugely addictive Chains (watch and listen above). Leaning more to the heavy metal side of things are Titanium Wings and the speedy Quicksilver. It's all good: some of the best songs Mastercastle has ever written. On Fire is strongly recommended." - Danger Dog
    $13.00
  • "The phrase, "A New Dawn" has become one widely used these days with the ascension of the Obama presidency in the United States, and certainly, that is a breath of fresh air for most of us. However, it’s also a good time for a metal band, with that phrase as a name, to make a serious arrival on the international music scene.A New Dawn isn’t really new. They’ve actually been around since 1998 in one form or another, although they began as a side project. Several demos and one semi serious EP and DVD later, the band has released the title under review here and is primed for a run at the big time.The band is a 6 member group headed up by a duel female lead. That lead, Sanne Kluiters and Jamila Ifzaren do something of an operatic front end. The guitars are provided by Elbert de Hoog, bass by Michel van Beekum and drums are compliments of Rik Bruineman. The final member is Michiel Glas whose responsibilities include vocals and grunting. Poor Michiel has the unenviable task of replacing the lovely Monica Janssen who played bass and was clearly the most impressive female grunter in metal. She was always, for me, a significant interest in this band and will be missed, but, as they say, the show must go on.It should be noted, however, that this CD was actually produced with a different lineup, and Monica is the grunter and bass player here. The additional clean vocals are done by a friend of the band, David van Santen. Willem Cremer performed on guitar and Peter van Toren did drums on this recording. With the completion of the CD, the changes came about, so this is the swan song for Monica. And that’s unfortunate but certainly not devastating. Lineup changes in European bands, unlike many American bands, are like changing your clothes in the morning.Doesn’t matter really who does the grunting, this is a B & B Gothic metal band. That Beauty and the Beast approach serves as the focus of A New Dawn and carries through much of the music presented here. And, as B and B bands go, this one is pretty good. They’re Dutch of course, and utilize a style found in numerous western European bands, even if the composition is a little unique. The sound, however, is pretty much mainstream metal, with a few twists.Falling from Grace opens with a beautiful little piece called Black Lotus, the two female leads doing an operatic harmony over a lovely symphonic background. You get the feeling we’re in for a lovely bit of harmonic Gothic, heavily orchestrated. Something like what we’d hear for a movie about life in the Middle Ages. David van Santen even joins in with a lovely male vocal component to augment this direction. The tome lasts some 1:22. . .. and then things change.As mentioned previously, A New Dawn is Gothic Metal, fairly hard Gothic Metal over a solid guitar base. The vocals, the female vocals anyway, are operatic, but they ride a cushion of heavy guitars to get where they’re going. Living Lie begins this journey, and pretty much introduces the real A New Dawn. And Monica’s grunting provides a highlight to the composition.Arguably, the most interesting song might be the following title, Veil of Charity. It made the Sonic Cathedral release A World of Sirens and gets significant airplay on the radio outlet. The song opens with an interesting guitar line over a metal core. Things heat up fast and flow to the duel female lead, which is juxtaposed against the grunting female vocals. This is, of course, the core of the A New Dawn sound and is probably the best implementation of that sound on the CD. Guitars are always secondary to the vocals with A New Dawn but they cannot be ignored, especially on this title. They are solid and get significant solo time, as well they should.The CD being somewhat new I haven’t been able to get lyrics online. However, the English of singers Kluiters, Ifzaren, Janssen and David van Santen is excellent so you can pretty much understand everything they’re singing. That’s not always the case with European bands, especially as they move further to the east. When you get to the Russians, they quit trying.A New Dawn does most of its work in heavy mode. However, there are exceptions. Wisdom of Hindsight is actually something of an acoustic number, at least at first. Vocals are different as well. The band does a sound like a Medieval Folk song on occasion, and this is one of those numbers. However, even here, the metal comes back at some point, but the movement back and forth is really interesting. There are almost three or four distinct styles here in one song.The acoustic sound carries through on other numbers as well, especially as an intro. A short number, Prelude to a Farwell, uses this technique to serve as a mid point on the CD, almost like an intermission, very beautiful and moving.That midpoint takes us to the second part of the CD, introduced by Kissed Goodbye. Again, the song starts slowly with a moving guitar that takes us to the lead female vocals. It should be pointed out that these vocals are not all that similar and are used differently, even when done at the same time. One is more operatic, the other less so, and they work in different ranges. Very different in the style and effect. Anyway, the slow stuff doesn’t last long, the guitars crank up and the metal goes full tilt.Much of the second part of the CD follows this format, slow and dreamy intros that lead to a crunching guitar guiding the female vocals to their face offs with Monica’s grunting.The final number, Ascension, Part III, is worth mentioning. It’s been a favorite of mine for some time and has video clips on YouTube where you get to see Monica (and the rest of the lineup at that time) in performance. This is one of the songs where the grunting is more up front, the guitars are a bit harder and we get the image of A New Dawn on stage. Of course, the two female vocalists are a delight and the band performs this number in much the same style as they would on stage, there is an electricity to their sound that transcends the recording.I’m sure that, in all respects, the band is every bit as good as ever, but I’m sure going to miss that little brunette bass player with the killer voice. Fortunately, we still have the strong contributions from the two female leads who carry the majority of the load.Oh well, progress is inevitable, and, in this case, we move with the tides. A strong offering from a band we will, no doubt, hear much more from in the future." - Sonic Cathedral
    $17.00
  • Remastered with 2 bonus tracks."In the early '80s, a new musical movement, dubbed "The New Wave of British Metal," swept across England. The conspirators include such heavy bands as Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Saxon, and Def Leppard, but Judas Priest is often credited as the originator and leader of the pack. Rob Halford's vocal histrionics and the dual guitar attack of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton mesmerized metal-heads everywhere. While Priest had been together since the early-'70s, the band's big U.S. breakthrough came with 1982's SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE.Like most other metal bands that broke through in the early '80s (Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, etc.), Judas Priest took advantage of the then-developing video medium. MTV put the clip for "You Got Another Thing Coming" in heavy rotation, and the song became one of heavy metal's all-time classic anthems. Other album tracks, such as "The Hellion," "Electric Eye," "(Take These) Chains," "Devil's Child," and the title composition, were all prime metal cuts. With its perfect balance of heavy riffing and melodicism, SCREAMING FOR VENGEANCE is considered by many to be among the finest heavy metal albums ever made." - Allmusic Guide
    $7.50
  • Reissue of the first album from this legendary SF thrash band. Comes with two live bonus tracks.
    $10.00
  • "Released on 16/11/09. CD1 – Thunder Steel. This 1988 album takes everything that was metal at the time and is a classic combining thrashing guitars and pounding percussion indicative of the underground thrash movement of the time. It has more riffs than Anthrax and undertones of the hair metal that was riding the charts at that time. It is a classic and has everything that makes metal great! CD2 – The Privilege Of Power. This 1990 album saw the band augment their state-of-the-art heavy metal sound with horns, courtesy of the Brecker Brothers and Tower Of Power. It also features guest vocals by Joe Lynn turner (rainbow). The album employs 10 complex tracks that work as a single unit."
    $16.00
  • "Can it be possible that we've got to 2014 without me ever having heard a studio album by Lazuli? Yes, ladies and gents, that is possible, I can assure you. Whilst I vividly remember Lazuli live in Tilburg some years ago in 2007 at the Symforce Festival and actually finding them making a huge impression with their live performance, I simply never got around to either buying nor listening to their studio albums. Shame on me for not doing so. More so as I now fully realise what I have been missing in music for quite some years. What a joy it was to hear the Lazuli sound again and now on a new album as well.For days Tant Que L'Herbe Est Grasse has been spinning its rounds in many CD players, be it in the car, at work or on my home system. Opener Déraille with its environmentally engaged lyrics gets on its way with a fine rhythm and very varied sounds and immediately draws you deep, deep into the world that is Lazuli's. I must add that Dominique Leonetti's passionate singing and the way his vocal lines, to these ears, are almost an instrument in their own right set them apart from many other bands. It may just be that you get drawn to listening to the lyrics even more and try to understand them that much better.Une Pente Qu'On Devale has the slightest bit of a Marillion vibe that reminds me a wee bit of the feel of their semi-acoustic tracks like Man Of A Thousand Faces, yet this is more modern and Lazuli rock out towards the end. There's also some fine, fine soloing in there too.Homo Sapiens just grabs you. It's more ballsy and reminds a bit of Riverside whereas the second half of the song tips its hat to latter day Fish, that is before the band start again and we get a fine Léode solo. The Fish vibe also appears to shine through on Tristes Moitiés and L'Essence Des Odyssées, yet it is not that these songs make Lazuli sound a 100% like everyone's favourite Scotsman; not at all, yet there is a comparison in sound that, to me, flows back to the Raingods with Zippos days. Fish himself features on J'Ai Trouvé Ta Faille where he gets to sing in the second part of the song. Another fine song on this very fine album, but there is plenty more to hear before we actually get to that one, the eighth song on the album.What Lazuli have delivered here is an album rich in sound and where all band members get to shine, be it individually yet moreover in how much this album is a band effort. On first listen you might find that the songs are just songs, but their build has more to them than appears on first listen. This is an album that grows each and every time you hear it. There are parts that are prog, world music, folk rock, storming out and out rocking moments and they are all brought together in this album. As I once more listen to Tristes Moitiés Lazuli again fully draw me into their realm. What is it that makes albums present themselves as ever growing in beauty? The textures, the soloing, the intricate drum and percussion parts that get to you more and more with each and every listening session. I dare say that this album has all that and, as already mentioned, there is the great singing!Multicolèlere, a play on the words "multicoloured anger", speeds things up once more and shows a heavier Lazuli. This whole song very much gets to me and perhaps there's another bit of Riverside, but let's just cut to the chase; this band sounds every inch like Lazuli should. And there is only one way to find that out for the not yet initiated and that is to just go and listen to this fine gem of an album. Don't think you can do like me and miss out on one of the finest prog bands around - why should you? You'd be missing out on real beauty. And yes, listen to this album all the way through, you won’t find that hard at all as J'Ai Trouvé Ta Faille is another beauty as is the closing song, Les Courants Ascendants, the only song to reach beyond the 6 minute mark. But count that as an asset that Lazuli have to their songwriting; they succeed in writing compact songs that are all very varied throughout the album." - DPRP.net
    $15.00
  • "Accept's creative breakthrough, 1983's Restless and Wild, begins with one of the most unexpected, surprising, and hilarious mock intros ever recorded. Untold thousands no doubt furrowed their brows in confusion at the perky German folk song emanating from their speakers, only to be rudely interrupted by a scratching needle and Udo Dirkschneider's incomparable shriek, as the band launch themselves into the stunning violence of "Fast as a Shark." Not just a thrilling, light-speed juggernaut, the song was probably the last thrash metal prototype waxed in the pre-thrash era (officially inaugurated by Metallica's Kill 'Em All a few months later). Though nowhere near as frenetic, the title track and "Ahead of the Pack" are just as fierce, and despite a sudden stumble with the mediocre "Shake Your Heads" (an overtly cheesy, Judas Priest-style metal anthem, and the album's only stinker), the dramatic "Neon Nights" ends side one on the upswing once again. As for the album's second half, it's pretty much beyond reproach. Introduced by the solid "Get Ready" (another nod to Priest with its "Living After Midnight"-inspired drum intro), it builds from strength to strength with increasingly mature and melodic (though lyrically obscure) tracks such as "Flash Rockin' Man," "Don't Go Stealing My Soul Away," and the colossal "Princess of the Dawn." The latter closes the album as it began, in unexpected fashion, when its extended outro is abruptly interrupted mid-verse. The bottom line here is that this, like its successor Balls to the Wall, is an essential heavy metal album, and any fan worth his salt should own them both. But for the sake of first-time visitors, Restless and Wild is the slightly grittier, less melodic of the two. Whichever you chose, you can only win." - All Music Guide
    $7.50
  • Latest release from this German band still bears the sound of a David Gilmour project, betraying their origins as a Pink Floyd cover band.  This time around the band has come up with a concept album.  "Germany's outstanding art rock act RPWL was recently confronted with a rather difficult question: how do you follow up an epic and highly celebrated album as the Nietzsche-themed 'Beyond Man And Time'? Here's the answer: you tackle the really, really huge topic on your new record 'Wanted' - the ultimate liberation of the spirit.But... How does an idea like that spring to the minds of an art rock band in the first place?RPWL tell of the hero of two worlds, Giuseppe Garibaldi - who, being a tremendous admirer of the Greek antiquity, became aware of a scroll of Plato's in which he analyzes the work of Hippocrates. It can be read in Garibaldi s diaries that Hippocrates had in fact found the formula for a medicine that leads the spirit into a real and absolute world, free of all illusion and invisible ghost worlds. The question, however, that inevitably arises at that point is the following: is the human race ready for what Plato called the gift of absolute freedom ?On 'Wanted', RPWL bring the principle of the concept album to a new level. That is how this gigantic piece of art evolves into a true explosion of creativity. Furthermore, the intellectual firepower of the content is in every way matched by the artistic and emotional depth of the music. More than ever, a sharp artistic edge and the hunger for discovery is what drives this record forward. Despite more than fifteen years in the scene, Yogi Lang (vocals, keyboard), Kalle Wallner (guitar), Marc Turiaux (drums), Markus Jehle (keyboard, piano) and Werner Taus (bass) brilliantly avoid playing it safe."
    $15.00
  • Special edition with bonus tracks."At first, I was somewhat unsure what I was going to get when I was sent this promo. The name seemed to be an attempt at a funny pun on the name of a “Harry Potter” character from my childhood. Then I read the press release, and just who was involved and realised it was going to be something awesome. Featuring ex-HELLOWEEN member Roland Grapow on guitars, as well as Thomen Stauch, who used to be in BLIND GUARDIAN, amongst other particularly good musicians, I just knew it was going to be a power metal treat.The album opens up with “I Seek No Other Life” and we’re straight into awesome riff territory, and some fantastically delivered vocals from Urban Breed, combined with awesome riffs and a powerful rhythm section, further developed by some nice bombastic keyboard melodies from Jan Vacik (ex-DREAMSCAPE). This is followed by “High And Low” and this has an awesome main melody that meets perfectly with the powerful chorus as well. A nice sense of groove really moves this song along.Some nice piano melodies open up “Sealing My Fate” in a delicate fashion, with some equally soft vocals here, before the song slams into a nice heavy yet melodic riff. This song has a really nice powerful chorus, and some great playing throughout. “Temple Of The Sun” is an instrumental with a fitting melody considering the title, with a highly symphonic sound to it, which then slams into “Akhenaton”, which is of course thematically similar to its instrumental introduction. This one has a real STRATOVARIUS feel to it, with really good use of dynamics in amongst some fantastic musical moments.“My Mystic Mind” is a real hard hitting track with some great guitar melodies and some nice use of dynamics, clashing stabbing guitars with piano melodies in a really interesting way. “Trail Of Murder” is straight off the bat a fantastic song, with some great guitar riffs meeting some tasty melodies. Again, the strong sense of dynamics is at play here, with lots going on in the song.Title-track “As Daylight Breaks” is a softer track, mainly relying on symphony and vocals to carry the track, with some really well performed parts all around making this a nice emotional sounding track with plenty of build and atmosphere. “Setting Fire To The Earth” follows this up and this one feels like PRAYING MANTIS on steroids, with heavy riffs and some great lyrical themes and vocal harmonies colliding to form a great track.Penultimate track, “Listen To The Storm”, builds an aptly moody atmosphere to start off with, with thunderous sounds meeting some nice guitar parts. The song develops nicely as it goes, with a really nice catchy chorus!The album ends on “Older And Wiser” and this is a nice high energy power metal track to finish things off, with some nice virtuosic playing and a nice fast pace throughout. This closes the album on a real nice note, leaving you feel pumped up and ready for more.The production is spot on, everything has a nice sense of power to it when needed, and softer moments are also equally well done. All the different things that are going on are mixed nicely, from heavy guitars to the softest piano moments. The vocals are also really nicely done, and a heavy rhythm section sound really powers this album along.“As Daylight Breaks” is a must-have for fans of Power Metal the way it should be done, there’s heavy and melodic riffs, soaring vocals, and great songwriting throughout this mammoth of an album. Keep your eyes peeled for this in 2015." - Metal Temple
    $9.00
  • "If the Germans perform half as well in the upcoming FIFA World Cup as they do in (power) metal this year, every other country can just about pack in its silly shoes. Primal Fear, Van Canto, Persuader, Stormwarrior, Freedom Call and Vanden Plas have already earned their names in the annals of the year, and now we can add Iron Savior to that ever-expanding list. A list that may very soon feature the likes of Axxis, Sinbreed, Brainstorm, Gamma Ray and Edguy as well. Not to speak of rumored returns from Orden Ogan, Mob Rules, Dark At Dawn, and Blind Guardian. Oomph.For a fan of Teutonic power and prog like me, it’s a great year to live in. Iron Savior has always stood as one of my favorites and the kind of band that never got the proper attention. Rise Of The Hero comes hot on the heels of The Landing, an album that put the savior machine back into our lives, but didn’t kick up the kind of dust that Condition Red and others once had. Fair enough, I’m comparing with a classic of the genre here and a peak that may never again be reached. As long as Piet Sielck and co. give it their best shot, though, you won’t hear me complaining. Not over the howling of “WHEN THE LAAAST HEEEROOO WILL DIIIEEE!” at least.Because “Last Hero” is one gamma cannon blast of an opener. Think “Titans Of Our Time” and shiver. I’m not sure where the whole “Iron Savior” concept went, but this does feel like the ballsy space opera that Iron Savior rose onto the scene with. For a clearer reference see “From Far Beyond Time”, which features all your favorite Iron Savior-phrases including “for the freedom and for the world”, “to protect and to serve”, and of course, “savior machine”. From Star Wars we go to Lord Of The Rings with more sword-and-sorcery inspired titles such as the titanic “Thunder From The Mountains”, surely-a-Stormwarrior-cover “Iron Warrior”, and the somewhat disappointingly plodding “Dragon King”.Iron Savior clearly gets its inspiration from just about anything. Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill-diptych forms the background of “Revenge Of The Bride” and its “DEADLY VIIIPEEERS!” makes us want to watch the Uma Thurman-led splatterfest once again. For a worthy sequel to their Seal-cover “Crazy”, the Germans went to “Dance With Somebody” from someone whose name I had to Google (Mando Diao it says). Meetings between heavy metal and pop are always a chunk of fun and this is no exception. “The Demon” in turn makes us sad in thinking Sielck is no longer a part of Savage Circus, as its grand ominous tone and “Evil Eyes”-echoes prove how much of a force the singer/guitarist was in that band. On the uplifting side are the come-on-get-up-and-go-do-stuff “Bleeding Heart”, and every heavy metal powered man’s new anthem, “Fistraiser”.All in all, this feels like the most complete Iron Savior record in quite some time. The guitar crunch could not be mistaken for anyone else’s, Sielck’s vocals deservedly step forward from the backings of such foster bands as Mercury Falling and – what’s in a name – Mindfeeder, and his production that those bands shared in will always remind us of Iron Savior first. Rise Of The Hero is everything its title implies: a rise, heroic, a conjunction, and an article. OK so maybe not “everything”, but ENOUGH." - Black Wind Metal
    $15.00
  • New US powermetal outfit put together by former Crimson Glory vocalist Wade Black and Rob Rock guitarist Rick Renstrom. Ex-Nocturnus Emo Mowery plays rhythm guitars and Rob Rock bandmate Stephen Elder plays bass. Noted drummer Richard Christy, currently appearing on the Howard Stern radio show hits the skins. For fans of Judas Priest, Jag Panzer and their ilk.
    $12.00
  • "Brazilian power metal superstars Hibria proudly present their very first live concert album on both DVD & CD - a multimedia headbanging experience of the first order!Professionally filmed with multiple cameras at the Shinagawa Prince Stellar Ball in Tokyo, Japan - May 15th, 2011 - and covering all of the fan favorites including Steel Lord On Wheels, Bind Ride, Shoot Me Down and more!This is the final release with Hibria founding member, guitarist and producer Diego Kasper!"CD/DVD1. Blind Ride2. Nonconforming Minds3. Shoot Me Down4. Welcome To The Horror Show5. Living Under Ice6. Defying The Rules7. Millennium Quest*6. Blinded By Faith9. The Shelter s On Fire10. The Anger Inside11. The Skull Collectors12. Sea Of Revenge*13. I Feel No Bliss*14. Sight Of BlindnessENCORE15. Intro (Wings Of Wax)16. Tiger Punch17. Steel Lord On Wheels18. Rotten Souls*DVD only
    $15.00
  • Second part of the English Electric concept dealing with life across the UK landscape.  What a beautiful album.  First off lets make it clear - Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford made a huge mistake.  Vocalist David Longdon should have been Phil Collins replacement in Genesis.  He would have fit like hand in glove.  The album features the band augmented by a variety of guest musicians including Andy Tillison of The Tangent who contributes organ, Moog, and Mellotron parts.  Its all very British sounding and once again a wonderful mix of old school prog and a more contemporary neoprog sound.  Highly recommended.
    $16.00