Released in November of ’99 Metalhead was the first SAXON album I actually got – and really liked! I vaguely remember a track from the Rock The Nations album received some radio play over here at the time (“Northern Lady” or “Waiting For The Night”), and I picked up that album in a cut-out bin not too long after. It didn’t make a huge impression on me and through a few moves the album was lost or given up (I hated packing things up, so on a few occasions parted with some records). Anyway, Saxon was not on a major label here, nor did I hear much else from them, aside from that cover of Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like The Wind”. In late ’99 I received the Metalhead CD (and bio) and put it on. The title and cover was certainly appealing to me, as a metal fan, and one looking for a great ‘new’ (old) band to discover and pick up on. Metalhead featured the founding members – Biff Byford and Paul Quinn, along with guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Nibbs Carter, and German drummer Fritz Randow (ex of German prog bands ELOY and EPITAPH).
From the opening build-up leading in to the title track I was expecting something big, and by the time I got to the end of the 4th song – I had to go back and re-listen! “Metalhead”, “Travelers In Time”, and especially “Conquistador” (love the acoustic intro before the band kicks in and the song takes off). These had my hooked and I listened to the first 3 songs repeatedly before I even got to the rest of the disc. And after that there’s really no duds here, this is a full-on classic metal album, with further great tracks like “All Guns Blazing” (killer intro) , “Watching You”, and epic finale “Sea Of Life”. Love the production, the big guitar sound, Biff’s distinctive voice; it all worked so well. A great album, and the follow up (w/ the same line up) made for a fine pair. Killing Ground featured another outstanding title track, as well a cool cover of King Crimson’s “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.
Saxon may not have caught on in North America the way fellow NWOBH leaders Iron Maiden did in the ’80s, but for the past few decades the band has consistently released solid albums, toured regularly, and also released live gems from their archives. Battering Ram [from 2015] got me back on track with the band, and then I saw Saxon in 2017 [w/ UFO] and it was a real eye opener. So, following the excellent Thunderbolt, a few side projects, such as Biff Byford’s solo album, the band’s covers’ album – Inspirations (released earlier this year), a slew of reissues and live releases, we get a brand new album Carpe Diem. By now most Saxon fans would be familiar with the title track issued a while back, a classic heavy riff & anthem based around the song “Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)” and a fine opener to an even better album, Saxon may be a heavy metal band who should’ve peaked decades ago, but here they are still coming up with an album full of songs amongst their best, offering not only their own thundering approach, but enough changes to keep things fresh from their previous records. On Carpe Diem, there is no shortage of tunes that will appeal to the Saxon faithful, from those big dark sounding riff rockers like “Super Nova”, “Black Is The Night”, “Dambusters”, and speedier “Living On The Limit (do I hear a twist on Sabbath’s “NIB” in there?). And Saxon never shy about timely topics and anthems deliver “Remember The Fallen” and “All For One”. Favorites here are the slightly slower “The Pilgrimage” which sits in that same class as “Lionheart”, (for me) and “Age Of Steam”, the best of the heavies here, killer intro and solo, with one of Biff’s historical content tales. Fantastic album from a band who’s still delivering their best. *Available on CD, vinyl (+colored0, cassette, and in Box set form!
*See the press release below for track-listing and more info…
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Life hath no fury like a legend in full roar… and on February 4th, 2022, Saxon will show just that to the world when they release their 23rd studio album, Carpe Diem, through Silver Lining Music, serving notice to anyone who ever felt otherwise that they remain both vanguards and masters of British Metal. Comprised of 10 titanic tracks bristling with steel-clad riffery and proud intent, the Barnsely (UK) born band draw on a variety of ingredients from their career to forge what is their most dynamic release in many a year.
“It all starts with the riff,” says front man and co-founder Biff Byford, “if the riff speaks to me, then we’re on our way. It’s a very intense album, and that’s all down to the fact that the essence of a great metal song is the riff that starts it, and this album has loads of them.”
Unleashing today the title track’s roll-back attack, this is Saxon at their purest and most definitive; aggressively parading the pure metal flag and imploring fans old and new to gather and celebrate the very best of both Saxon and the genre itself.
“In Latin it means ‘seize the day’ and I think it’s a great thing to say;” continues Biff “it’s what the Romans used to say to each other on a regular basis, apparently, never having met one, I wouldn’t know! But we’re gonna do the Seize the Day world tour, the album’s Carpe Diem, this song’s called “Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)” and it’s such a powerful thing to say.”
Produced by Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Exodus, Accept and Priest guitarist) at Backstage Recording Studios in Derbyshire with Byford and Sneap mixing and mastering, Carpe Diem strikes the ear as one of the most essential British metal statements of the last few years and not lacking in pace or bite, an album which will ignite the joy in stalwart supporters and attract a whole new legion to the Saxon fold.
“We want every album we make to go platinum,” says Biff defiantly. “We never make an album that we don’t expect to be fantastic because there are no laurels around here, and as a band, we’re always trying to do something a little bit new, a little bit daring. I love fast metal like “Princess of the Night” and “20,000 Feet”, and I try and bring that style of Saxon into the music now, but in a more modern style. We don’t sound like an old band on records because we’re not sitting back on our past success, we’re always trying to make a great album.”
The genesis of Carpe Diem’s fierce intensity lies in two extremely significant life events – “It’s been a difficult two years,” offers Biff with considerable understatement, “because I had the heart attack back in September 2019, so things went a bit pear-shaped for the band. And then Covid hit two or three months later, but luckily, we started writing and recording this album before Covid. We did the drums in Germany and we did the guitars in various places. I was doing a lot of writing while I was in the hospital bed, and we spent quite a long time writing and arranging the ideas that we all had. I do think it’s a very intense album, and maybe some of that intensity comes from the frustration of not being able to do anything in the Covid period.”
Carpe Diem Track Listing: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) Age of Steam The Pilgrimage Dambusters Remember the Fallen Super Nova Lady In Gray All for One Black is the Night Living On the Limit
Produced by Andy Sneap and Biff ByfordAlbum mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap
Guitars recorded by Andy Sneap at Backstage Recording Studios, Derbyshire (UK); Vocals recorded by Seb Byford at Big Silver Barn, York (UK); Drums recorded by Jacky Lehmann (Audiosound) at Velbyproductions, Grünenplan (Germany).
All lyrics by Biff Byford. Backing vocals by Seb Byford
Swedish hard-rock/metal band who released 7 albums from 1992-2011, before taking a break, but returned last year with Back On Track, a 15 song CD of hard rock, melodic rock, and metal. A well produced album, with attention to detail on song intros, solos, backing vocals, and well placed keyboards. Lots of hooks, melodies, and changes from song to song. I will say that I am not a fan of long albums, 10 tracks i enough for me, but hey, fans of the given band will appreciate more.
The title track leads off this album with a brief intro leading in to the heavy crunchy riff. A fine opener and first video released from this album. Favorite tracks rocks include rockers “Narrow Mind Land”, “Get Down To Biz”, “Doctor Lööv”, and “Rising”.
*check out the press release and links below …
It’s time, not just to celebrate the 30:th anniversary of the first M.ILL.ION album, but also to get back to that pure feeling of joy of the early days! Take note, people: This is not a reunion of tired middle aged men for nostalgic reasons. This is for real and a serious attempt at creating great new rock music, to kick some classic ass on stage again and to have lots of fun doing it all! Four original M.ILL.ION members reunited in the autumn of 2020: Hans Dalzon (Lead Vocals), CT Rohdell (Guitar) Marcus Berglund (Keyboards) and B.J Laneby (Bass Guitar). New, and very talented recruits Henrik Andersson (Lead Guitar) and Magnus Rohdell (Drums) completes this powerful six piece. Founder & bassist B.J Laneby comments: ”It’s so much fun, creativity & energy again! It’s really like the title track says: ” BACK ON TRACK – Time to make boys out of men!” The band has spent the spring of 2021 working on the reunion album BACK ON TRACK. This 15 track production includes three brand new songs and two re-recordings/re-arrangements of tracks from the No.1 album. Adding to this: Rare recordings have been found, remixes have been done + remasterings of songs from the first three albums; ”No.1”, ”We, Ourselves & Us” and ”Electric” as well. All very highly praised albums, all getting updated sounds. Indeed, quite a cool package of classic melodic hard rock! The new recordings on the Back On Track album were mixed by the world famous British producer Simon Hanhart (David Bowie, Bryan Adams, Saxon, Marillion, Asia, Yngwie Malmsteen, Waysted. a.o). Mastering was handled by another world class guy: Tim Debney of Fluid Mastering, UK. (Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, Judas Priest…) M.ILL.ION recently signed a deal with the well known German label AOR Heaven for the European release.
Track list: 1. Back On Track, 2. Rising, 3. Circle Of Trust, 4. 90-60-90, 5. Sign Of Victory, 6. Judgement Day, 7. Eye Of The Storm, 8. Narrow Mind Land, 9. Lovely Eyes, 10. Burn In Hell, 11. Doctor Lööv, 12. Mother Earth, 13. Get Down To Biz, 14. Tear Down The Walls, 15. Candyman . So, ladies & gentlemen, rockers & rollers: Get Ready! M.ILL.ION is BACK ON TRACK! http://www.millionsweden.com //http://www.facebook/Millionbackontrack
With members hailing from Sweden, Norway, and Finland, one can expect something pretty heavy, and pretty good. Flames Of Fire, fronted by singer Christian Liljegren [Narnia] and made of experienced metal players, debuts with this album, featuring plenty of power and heavy tunes. The band members site such influences as – Europe, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Michael Schenker, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy. After a brief light intro [“New Dawn”], this disc kicks off with first video release “Gloria”, that has a definite classic Iron Maiden feel to it, fast paced, strong vocals, big guitar solo… A great start. The band’s lyrical content is Christian belief, with references to the end of time, Jesus, the bible, etc….if you deal with that, you’ll dig this album . Excellent metal tracks like “Flames Of Fire”, ‘Madness” [cool drum & guitar riff intro reminds me of WASP’s Crimson Idol era], and “Time To Live” . A good listen throughout, well produced.
Line-up: Christian Liljegren – Vocals Mats-Åke Andersson – Guitars, composer Jani Stefanovic – Guitars, keyboards, drums & producer Stephen Carlson – Guitars Per Schelander – Bass
Track-listing: New Dawn, Gloria, Flames Of Fire, Madness, I Am, Time To Live, Solution, Soldiers Of The King, End Theme.
The success story continues for NESTOR, consisting of five childhood friends from the small town of Falköping, Sweden, who chose to restart the band they once formed back in 1989, that’s been lying dormant for just over three decades.
Their debut full-length album Kids In A Ghost Town was released on October 22 and reached first place on the Swedish Hard Rock Album Chart as well as an honorable second place on the list for Physical Album Sales. The album has been unanimously acclaimed by rock press and media, both at home in Sweden and abroad in Europe, the UK, and the US, where many have mentioned it as a given candidate for Album Of The Year.
Their music has already reached close to 1,5 million streams on Spotify and more than 500 000 views on YouTube of their music videos, among them the one for the single “Tomorrow” – an epic ballad duet with 80s icon Samantha Fox, that together with the videos for the two prior singles “On The Run” and “1989” showcase the band’s love for the 80s and all its attributes, with a sense of detail that is hard to match. With their live debut accomplished in conjunction with their album release at a sold-out gig in Stockholm, where the only real complaint was that the crowd wanted more, NESTOR have several upcoming live performances, both at the big arenas in Sweden and on the trustworthy summer rock festivals.
NesTOUR DATES 2021-22:Nov 20 – Keep It True Rising, Würtzburg, GermanyDec 10 – Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 11- Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ Takida)Dec 17 – Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden (w/ Takida)Feb 4 – Vulkan Arena, Oslo, Norway (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 5 – Berns, Stockholm, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 18 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 19 – Trädgår’n, Gothenburg, Sweden (w/ H.E.A.T)Feb 26 Folkets Hus, Blomstermåla (w/ H.E.A.T)June 4 – Atlas Rock, Gävle, SwedenJune 11 – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg, SwedenAug 3 – Sabaton Open Air, Falun, Sweden Many more dates to be added.
NESTOR embraces influences from the 80s in their nostalgic rock, with tongues-in-cheek and a lot of heart along with great passion. The album Kids In A Ghost Town is produced by Tobias Gustavsson, mixed by Sebastian Forslund (The Night Flight Orchestra), and mastered by Thomas “Plec” Johansson at The Panic Room.
NESTOR ARE: Jonny Wemmenstedt (guitar) Mattias Carlsson (drums) Tobias Gustavsson (vocals) Marcus Åblad (bass) Martin Frejinger (keyboards)
Much like Ken Ingwersen’s latest album The Future Looks Bright, Barnabas Sky is a project put together by a guitarist / songwriter, and assembled with an outstanding cast of great singers for each track, from bands Markus Pfeffer admired [hence the title]. A solid collection of heavy rockers and a few lighter melodic numbers. Great hefty sounding guitars, and lots of good songs. Really liking the opener “Legends Rise” and “Say Goodbye To Darker Days” [both featuring Danny Vaughn of Tyketto], as well as the heavy riff rockers “Yesterday’s Gone” [featuring Bob Rock of Impellitteri], and “Youngblood” [w/ Jesse Damon of Silent Rage]. Love the sound and production of this album; nice big guitar sound, well placed keyboards where needed. And pretty cool songs, which I’m looking forward to hearing more of.
The new all-star hard & heavy project BARNABAS SKY comes from the mind of guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Markus Pfeffer (Lazarus Dream, Winterland, ex-Scarlett) from Kaiserslautern/Germany. The debut album full of catchy hooklines, edgy-groovy rocking guitar riffs and filigree guitar solos is titled “Inspirations” for a certain reason: Pfeffer was able to hire singers from internationally known bands for it, which had influenced him significantly during his musical beginnings: Jesse Damon (SILENT RAGE), Steve Grimmett (GRIM REAPER/LIONSHEART), Danny Martinez Jr. (GUILD OF AGES), Rob Rock (IMPELLITTERI/AXEL RUDI PELL), Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE) and Danny Vaughn (TYKETTO) do the lead vocals on the album.
TYKETTO’s “Don’t Come Easy” was one of the first CDs Markus Pfeffer listened to on an endless loop as a schoolboy in 1991. Three decades later, he composes two songs together with TYKETTO’s golden throat Danny Vaughn, the appropriately titled epic opener “Legends Rise” and “Say Farewell To Darker Days” with elaborate vocal arrangements and poignant lyrics.
SAVATAGE singer Zak Stevens contributed lyrics about the psychological effects of the pandemic for the heavy stomping track “What Lies Beneath”, which is underpinned with down-tuned guitar riffs and subtle orchestral arrangements, and he sings about a legendary figure of Russian folklore in the form of a bird with a woman’s head on “The Alkonost”.
GUILD OF AGES frontman Danny Martinez Jr. from Denver/Colorado dominates the melodic hard rock songs “Breathe Again” and “In My Mind” with his very own timbre and velvety voice. The latter is the album’s first video track with a more than hooky guitar riff and lyrics about the increasingly important attention to mental health.
SILENT RAGE’s smoky-throated frontman Jesse Damon carries the epic ballad “Till The End Of Time” and the rocker “Youngblood”, with AOR legend PAUL SABU contributing backing vocals for both tracks. Nostalgia fact on the side: Interestingly, the Hollywood classic movie “The Thief of Bagdad” starring Sabus’s father was Markus Pfeffer’s favourite film during his childhood. Damon recorded his vocals in North Hollywood at the studio of Bill Metoyer (FATES WARNING, ARMORED SAINT etc.).
Melodic metal siren Rob Rock (AXEL RUDI PELL, IMPELLITTERI, M.A.R.S. etc.) takes over the mic on the riff monster “Yesterday’s Gone” and GRIM REAPER’s Steve Grimmett’s unmistakable voice convinces on the straight rocker “Never Enough”.
As a tribute, Pfeffer has adapted the title tune of the seventies TV series “Timm Thaler” in a “GARY MOORE way” and provided it with deliberate sonic and stylistic reminiscences of Moore’s classic “The Loner”.
Musical guests on the album are keyboardist Thomas Nitschke and pianist Michael Weickenmeyer, drummer/percussionist Thomas Rieder and bassist Bernd Schreiber. The album’s artwork was designed by well-known French artist Stan W. Decker (RAGE, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, MASTERPLAN) and mastering was done at Rolf Munkes’ (CREMATORY) Empire studios in Bensheim, Hessia.
The names of the contributors speak for themselves – there can hardly be more arguments to lend BARNABAS SKY’s debut album an attentive ear.
Tracklist: 1. Legends Rise, 2. What Lies Beneath, 3. In My Mind, 4. Yesterday’s Gone, 5. Till The End Of Time, 6. Say Farewell To Darker Days, 7. Breathe Again, 8. The Alkonost, 9. Timm’s Theme, 10. Youngblood, 11. Never Enough, 12. Till The End Of Time (Piano Version)
New York’s Twisted Sister became a household name in the mid ’80s with the success of their 3rd album Stay Hungry, and more so with the hit single “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and the comical videos created for the Stay Hungry singles, as well as the follow up album’s videos. But my favorite from Twisted Sister is their 2nd album – You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll in 1983. The album may not have been a huge commercial success, but it was the band at their best, before the hilarious videos, and the attempts at appealing to the mainstream. You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll was full of straight on edgy and angry TS rockers and anthems. You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll was actually the band’s first North American album release, as their debut Under The Blade was recorded in the UK and did not get a US deal & release until after the band had found commercial success; it was remixed and issued in 1985 in Canada and the US. It was produced by British producer / Engineer Stuart Epps who, at the time was producing Wishbone Ash and Vandenberg, and who’s previous engineering credits included Elton John, Chris Rea, Bill Wyman, and US band Shooting Star. Also recorded in the UK, where the band had built up a strong following and would issue 3 singles from You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll. The cover art was simple – with the band name in huge pink letters accompanied by the TS logo on a dark background, Difficult to miss, very to the point!
One thing Twisted Sister albums always had were great intro songs, Under The Blade had “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)”, Stay Hungry and Come Out And Play both had strong intros with the title tracks, and You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll had “The Kids Are Back”. Drawing on those rebellious / outsider teen ideas, with a chorus (like many TS songs) that’s not overly complicated but easily burns into your brain. The next 2 tracks come at you aggressively first with the opening riff to “Like A Knife In The Back”, followed by “Ride To Live, Live To Ride” and heavy metal battle cry “The Power And The Glory”. “I Am (I’m Me)” went in to the band’s sorta poppier direction, catchy, but ..ok; was probably a good choice as a single.
Side 2 opens with “We’re Gonna Make It”; a good song, tho the riff reminds me of Sammy Hagar’s “There’s Only One Way To Rock”. A couple of solid rockers in “I’ve Had Enough” and fast paced “I’ll Take You Alive”, followed by the closest thing to a ballad in “You’re Not Alone (Suzette’s Song)” – penned by Snider for his wife; not one of my favorites here, but it’s a decent forerunner to future ballads “The Price” and “I Believe In You”. The album closes with the title track,; another great anthem, intro & title would’ve fit well on an AC/DC album! Cool video to boot.
The 2018 2 disc reissue contains 3 bonus tracks, as well as 1 disc being the band’s 1983 performance at the Marquee in London, UK.
The band followed this up with their break through classic album Stay Hungry in 1984. That album I remember picking up at the time, then later going back to get the previous 2 some time later. It was their biggest success with a couple of huge hits & videos, but the band’s next album Come Out And Play veered more in to the commercial direction, lacking a bit of the weight and anger, but heck I loved that album, and played the crap out of it! It is also notable for including the return of Alice Cooper (I was a huge AC fan then, and this was his first ‘new’ thing when he came back). The band’s last album was 1987’s Love Is For Suckers. And whether I wasn’t paying attention at the time or what, but I don’t recall hearing anything about it until I walked in to the local Sam The Record Man and saw it on display. I liked that one too, tho’ not so crazy about the production (heck, I don’t think TS ever found a great producer to capture them properly, and consistently). The band split after this album, and Dee Snider (who also wrote the band’s songs) went off to other projects, but by then I’d moved on and didn’t keep up. I have gone back and picked up some of the archived and later released live albums, as well as Dee’s last album For The Love Of Metal, and the excellent For The Love Of Metal : Live, released last year.
Thor – the band formed around vocalist Jon Miki Thor, a former body builder turned rock star. Thor delivers heavy metal with some awesome riffs, some comic book influence, melodies as well as power metal rockers, and anthems…. Alliance features 17 tracks, as well as a lengthy and impressive list of guests, most notably Chris Holmes [ex W.A.S.P.] and ‘Ross The Boss’ Friedman, guitarist [and former bandmate] Frank Soda, Al Harlow [of Prism], and numerous others. Kicking off with the anthem “We Need Musclerock”, Alliance contains plenty of fun hard driving rockers, with favorites being “Power Hungry”, “Bounty Hunter”, and “Rock Around The World” [w/ Danko Jones]. “Queen Of The Spiders” is my favorite song here though, it’s with Frank Soda, a bit more laid back, a bit of a Doors feel. I am not so familiar with Thor’s back catalogue, but this is a mighty collection of hard rock & metal tunes that [presumably] anyone who’s familiar with these guys will enjoy, and a cool start for those unaware.
Metal Titan THOR Forges The Ultimate ALLIANCE With W.A.S.P.’s CHRIS HOLMES & ROSS THE BOSS In A New Video/Single From His Forthcoming Album!
Los Angeles, CA – Like the Heavy Metal Avengers, heroes and icons from all over the metal world have united behind the legendary god of metal thunder, THOR, on an epic new studio album, entitled Alliance! Only a figure of such mythic strength and power as the mighty THOR could unite such an astounding armada of artists including W.A.S.P.’s Chris Holmes, Raven vocalist John Gallagher, Soilwork singer Björn Strid, Danko Jones, Anthrax’s Neil Turbin, Ross “The Boss” Friedman and many more. Together, this battalion of champions fuse their talents to create one of the heaviest, most melodic THOR albums of all time! Just check out the album’s first single, “The Ultimate Alliance,” a heart-pounding, metal riffing powerhouse of a track that features some stellar guitar solos from Chris Holmes & Ross The Boss as well as the vocal talents of A Sound Of Thunder singer Nina Osegueda and Lords Of The Trident frontman Fang VonWrathstein! The track is debuted here alongside a superbly fun, special-effects heavy video.
Alliance features stunning artwork from Timo Wuerz and will be available July 16 on both digital as well as on CD in a digipak and limited edition silver vinyl in a gatefold jacket! Watch for Thor to launch several shows and festivities in this year as he celebrates his 39th studio album and an astounding 50 years of metal mayhem as well as co-starring in a feature-length action movie “Pact Of Vengeance,” which will feature music from the new album!
Track List: 1. We Need Musclerock feat. John Gallagher (Raven) 2. Niflhel (Realm Of The Dead) feat. Björn Strid (Soilwork) 3. The Ultimate Alliance feat. Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Ross “The Boss” Friedman (Manowar), Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) & Fang VonWrathenstein (Lords Of The Trident) 4. Ode To Odin feat. Dan Cleary (Striker) 5. We Will Fight Forever feat. Neil Turbin (Anthrax) 6. Because We Are Strong 7. Rock Around The World feat. Danko Jones 8. Queen Of The Spiders feat. Frank Soda (The Imps) 9. Power Hungry 10. Bounty Hunter feat. Frank Meyer (The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs) & Dennis Post (Warrior Soul) 11. Battlements feat. Trevor William Church (Haunt) 12. Thor vs. The Juggernaut (War Of The Gods) feat. Sean Peck (Death Dealer) 13. Generation Now feat. Joey Killingsworth (Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre) 14. After The Laughter feat. Martin Gummesson (Thundermaker) 15. Good Stuff feat. Al Harlow (Prism) 16. Congregate feat. Joey Roads & Sheldon Byer (Roadrash) 17. We Will Fight Forever (Reprise)
“The Ultimate Alliance” video credits:
Written by: Jon Mikl Thor / John Leibel
Lead Vocals: Jon Mikl Thor
Special Guests: Lead Guitar: Chris Holmes Lead Guitar: Ross “The Boss” Friedman Lead Vocals: Nina Osegueda Lead Vocals: Fang VonWrathenstein
Lead Guitar: John Leibel Rhythm Guitar: Matt Hamilton Bass: Ted Jedlicki Drums: Tom Croxton
Video Directed by: Josh Grambo
Special Effects and Editing: Josh Grambo and John Magz Videography: Josh Grambo, Javier Cedillo, Kevin Stuart Swain, and Lisa Freakrock Additional Videography: Don Watson, Matthew Szablewicz, Ty Christian, Josh Schwartz, and Catherine Holmes
Icon Of Sin is based around the vocals of Brazilian metal singer Raphael Mendes, who has made a name for himself for his remarkable vocal similarities to Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickenson. In fact listening to this album, it may be easy to forget the title for a moment and think you’re listening to something new from Maiden. If you’re waiting patiently for a new Maiden album and need something to fill the time, this would be well worth checking out. Musically, it even sounds like Maiden in places, as well as influences of WASP [post ’90s], Sabbath [w/ Dio], Rainbow….. Check out tracks like tracks like “Road Rage”, “Shadow Dance”, and “Clouds Over Gotham” to see what I mean. But, really – great playing, a solid metal album – even if much of it sounds familiar, plenty of really good songs. Favorite tracks being “Arcade Generation” and “Night Breed”. Will be interesting to hear more from Raphael Mendes.
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the signing of ICON OF SIN, a new project centered around the vocal talents of the popular Brazilian YouTube sensation Raphael Mendes. He is joined in the band by two other stellar Brazilian musicians, Sergio Mazul (SEMBLANT) and Marcelo Gelbcke (LANDFALL).
Raphael Mendes has become a very popular figure in the Youtube world due to his jaw dropping vocal covers. His recognition as one of the hottest new talents in metal started in 2016 when he was invited by guitarist Fabio Lima to record a YouTube video that wound up going viral. Encouraged by the reaction, Mendes launched his own YouTube channel to create more videos for fans to enjoy. As more and more fans around the world started to discover him, he was invited to join other musical projects, including Marius Danielsen’s “Legend Of Valley Doom Part 2”, which also featured Michael Kiske, Vinny Appice, Mark Boals, Michele Luppi, and Diego Valdez, among others.
One of the things that made Mendes’ reputation grow considerably happened earlier in 2020, when a video series called “What if Bruce Dickinson sang in other bands” was launched. With Mendes Dickinson-esque singing style being used to cover songs by Megadeth and more, these versions impressed fans worldwide and word quickly spread in the metal community. Collaborative versions are now being made with some emerging rock artists and also musicians from the global metal scene, such as drummer Aquiles Priester (ex-Angra, Primal Fear, W.A.S.P.).
Raphael’s videos ended up reaching the eyes and ears of Frontiers, a label known for signing and nurturing the most promising new names of the next generation of rock and metal. Frontiers has recently started to work more and more with South American based talent and had the thought to pair Raphael with two outstanding musicians of the Curitiba metal scene, both of whom have already unveiled their musical talents through the label: Sergio Mazul, singer of Semblant and Marcelo Gelbcke, guitarist of Landfall. While the music of their respective bands are quite dissimilar, both have a passion for traditional heavy metal and knew they could craft amazing music for Mendes to put his vocals to. They have already set to work with Raphael in the creation of a no-nonsense, straight ahead classic pure heavy metal album.
“Music is my passion, a way of life!” says Raphael Mendes. “It’s really been and continues to be a fantastic experience, working on the Icon Of Sin album. The songs are so powerful and it has awakened something in me that I haven’t felt for a long time from a heavy metal album!”
Tracklist: Icon Of Sin Road Rage Shadow Dancer Unholy Battleground Nightbreed Virtual Empire Pandemic Euphoria Clouds Over Gotham Arcade Generation Hagakure (Intro) The Last Samurai The Howling Survival Instinct
Pyromide is the 3rd album from Finnish metal band Temple Balls. If you just want to hear some all-out 2 guitar, heavy, pounding hard rock & metal, with cool lead vocals, melodies, and big vocal choruses – then check this out. There’s a number of kick-ass rockers here in “T.O.T.C.” [Thrill of the chase] , “Fallen Youth” [shades of Dio as this one starts] , and “You Better Run”.
Fave cuts here would be “Bad Bad Bad” [an easily likeable tune, a bit less metal, and a bit of pop, the anthem “Heart Of A Warrior” , and the power ballad “If Only I Could”, which starts on piano and becomes pretty heavy, no mushy stuff here; killer guitar solo. I really like the production and sound of this whole thing. This just gets better after a few listens. Now I am curious about the rest of this band’s stuff. Pretty cool album cover as well from Jan “Orkki” Yrlund.
About:
Temple Balls are an energetic hard rock band from Finland. “Pyromide”, their Frontiers debut and third album overall, is a tour de force of melodic hard rock that sees the band pushing themselves onto the world stage. Produced by none other than Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), “Pyromide” is a tour-de-force of hooks, powerful rhythms, and anthemic rock ‘n roll like it was meant to be played.
For the past couple of years, Temple Balls has kept busy both in the studio and on the stage. Opening for such bands as Sonata Arctica, Queen, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep, the band has proven to be more than capable to handle stages of any size, whether it be a big festival or your local club’s stage. Live, this band will set your friggin’ pants on fire and turn you into a believer.
The band’s first official single, ’Hell And Feelin’ Fine’ was released in September 2016 and got loads of airtime on Finnish Radio Rock. The band’s debut album was recorded at Karma Sound Studios (Thailand) in May 2016, and saw the daylight on February 24, 2017. The album was produced by Tobias Lindell, who is known for his collaborations with Europe, Mustasch, and H.E.A.T. Fall of 2017 started with a sold out tour across Finland with Battle Beast. The band also played in Japan for the first time and did a five day tour of Ukraine in late 2017. After their swing through Japan, the readers of the biggest Japanese rock magazine Burrn! voted Temple Balls as ‘the second brightest hope’ and additionally were chosen as ‘The Newcomer of the Year’ on Masa Ito’s Rock TV.
The second album, “Untamed” dropped on March 8, 2019 and immediately got fantastic reviews from music media such as Soundi and Burrn! magazines. The band also toured Europe as support fro Sonata Arctica, cementing their reputation as a stellar live act.
Temple Balls third album, “Pyromide” is now ready to be unleashed. Produced by none other than Jona Tee (H.E.A.T), it is a stunning punch in the face for all lovers of anthemic and melodic hard rock.
Tracklist: Thunder From The North Long Ways, Long Lies T.O.T.C. Fallen Youth Bad Bad Bad What Is Dead Never Dies Unholy Night Heart Of A Warrior You Better Run If Only I Could Something To Die For
Line-up: Arde Teronen – Vocals Jimi Välikangas – Bass Jiri Paavonaho – Guitar Niko Vuorela – Guitar Antti Hissa – Drums
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Outsider Rock 