Power Theory 'An Axe To Grind' review

POWER THEORY

'An Axe To Grind'

(Pure Steel Records)

'An Axe To Grind' is Power Theory's new CD and for those unfamiliar with the band, they play aggressive heavy metal with touches of melody with a lot of memorable riffs and solos that remind you a lot of golden years of heavy metal without totally ripping off the gods of metal. The drumming is all over the metal scope ranging from mid-pace to super-fast beats done with precision and executed perfectly. Fans of traditional heavy metal with both melody and power should check out Power Theory you won't be disappointed.

(Patrick)

Power Theory 

Arctic Flame 'Guardian At The Gate' review

ARCTIC FLAME

'Guardian At The Gate'

(Pure Steel Records)

This, the third album of the US-Based band Arctic Flame, hardly is a surprising musical affair, consisting mostly of mid-tempo songs, along with random few speedier ones. Musically the main influences appear to be Iron Maiden and early Jag Panzer, that's to say the band has manage to cross the British and US school in their sound. This stuff isn't over the top heavy by any stretch of the imagination, which has been also reflected by the rather 'hard rock' production job, that's far removed from the usual bombastic one most power metal sports. What sets Arctic Flame apart from their peers is the somewhat epic feeling oozing from the tunes, as well as the progressive elements interwoven in some of the songs ('The Eternal', for instance), the latter resulting in fairly sophisticated song structures with various tempo changes and elegant combinations of aggressive and milder, lyrical themes. The vocals, while not exceptional, are quite effective overall, giving away slight resemblances to those of Fish, once again justifying the term 'prog' in regards to this here band. 'Guardian At The Gate' makes for a nice listening, should be a good one when one is driving the car around, given the fact it's neither too aggressive nor overly boring. After some 'pros' and 'cons' the final score comes to this: [7]

(Asen Asenov)

Arctic Flame 

 

Deathfist 'Too Hot To Burn' review

DEATHFIST

‘Too Hot to Burn’

(Pure Steel Records)

Even though a relatively new band, Deathfist's line-up is comprised of musicians who couldn't be exactly called rookies – vocalist Corinna Becker and guitarist Marcus Wichman are known for their work with Mortal Remains, who have been in the scene for a while already. 'Too Hot To Burn' is the band's debut full length, following an EP released in 2009 and what we've here is nicely played and very eager sounding thrash that combines the aggressiveness and speed of Kreator and Exodus (especially in Corinna's singing manner). Their MySpace also quotes Metallica as an influence, but I don't hear that. The songs are straightforward and pummelling, non-compromising and rapid, akin to machine-gun fire aimed at the listener. There is real high energy here and band's gigs should be quite the head-banging spectacles, I reckon. The album is flat out cool, couple of the more impressive songs for me were 'Demons' and the title track 'Too Hot To Burn'. Too hot indeed, and if you need your trip to the circles of hell as well then get this album. [8]

 (Asen Asenov) 

Deathfist 

Artizan 'Curse Of The Artizan' review

ARTIZAN

'Curse Of The Artizan'

(Pure Steel Records)

The time has come for the debut album of the US young metal hopefuls, Artizan. Artizan play melodic power/progressive metal, with a prominent use of melodic guitar riffs. Every band has, more or less, their own style but it doesn't hurt to mention that Artizan seem to be influenced by Manilla Road and Jag Panzer's epic vibe, spiced by some Crimson Glory to justify the prog tag. Album's weakest link appear to be the vocals of Tom Braden, his style is a little bit one-dimensional and lacking certain power at times. The band, however, more than makes up for that with their musical ideas, with predominantly mid-tempo songs filled with some marvellous melodic nuances that bring forth the well needed depth to these tunes. The title track 'Curse Of The Artizan', with its 10 minute duration is the absolute peak of the album, along with 'Rise', which is also class. Hopefully Artizan will be successful in the melodic/power scene, no matter how crowded it appears to be nowadays. [8] 

(Asen Asenov)

Artizan 

Black Hawk 'Straight To Hell' review

BLACK HAWK

'Straight To Hell'

(Karthago)

Apparently, there's another, hard rock, band operating under the same moniker, but what we've got here is the German Hawk. And Germans they prove to be, playing typical heavy metal, as dictated by the best traditions of Accept, Helloween, X-Wild and Saxon (a great cover version of 'Crusader' on this album!). It's probably interesting to note that the band started out in the early '80's, disbanded in the '90's and re-united again in 2005, which also marks the year of their debut full-length. 'Straight To Hell' is their fourth altogether, and possibly the best. Following a brief intro, the powerful 'Isolation' kicks off and the Germans bring to the plate not only speed but also a good deal of melody. 'Shoot Shoot', along with 'Bad Pussy' showcase the entertaining rock'n'roll face of the band, 'Seven Years Of Pain' is a gorgeous ballad, while the title song and the instrumental 'Crystal Shark Pt.1' being the opposite – lethal and speedy numbers. Overall, the album is a really catchy one, with choruses and melodies that are easily memorable, and the production, courtesy of none else than Dirk Schlachter (Gamma Ray), is seriously perfect. 'Guardians Of The Night' is my top favorite track off the bunch and this album is well worth adding to anyone's collection of German Metal. [8] 

(Asen Asenov)

Black Hawk 

  

 

Split Heaven 'Street Law' review

SPLIT HEAVEN

'Street Law'

(Pure Steel Records)

Yet another band representing the popular at the moment NWOTHM, with the main difference being that Split Heaven hail from Mexico, a land mostly known for its more radical, extreme, bands. This is their third album, keeping the traditions set by the previous two by bringing the public expertly played heavy metal in the veins of Judas Priest, Accept and Stormwitch. The songs are fast paced, strengthened by memorable riffs and choruses, as well as virtuoso guitar solos, with the emotional vocals by Eligio Valenzuela adding a heavier epic vibe to the whole package. What's also great about this album is the genuine energy that streams from the tunes, which is here to show how enthusiastic these guys are for their craft. 'Street Law' wins over with its straightforward, non-bullshit, approach and none would be bored by listening to tunes like 'Time Warrior', 'The Devil Isn't Fool', 'The Obscure' and 'Street Law'. I can guarantee this is gonna be a real pleasure to the heavy metal fans, old and young. [8]

 (Asen Asenov)

Split Heaven MySpace 

Thunderblast 'Invaders From another World' review

THUNDERBLAST

'Invaders From Another World'

(Pure Steel Records)

Colombian power metal? You better bet it is! And really solid sounding one at that – powerful and uncompromising music, which borrows from the best traditions of both the German and the US scenes. 'Core Domain' is the perfect opener – a real metal anthem – speed and melody combined with harmonic guitar solos and catchy choruses. The rest of the album continues in similar vein, featuring not only fast tracks but some mid-tempo one as well, the latter of which are borderline thrash ('When Zombies Rise'), which is another thing Thunderblast have in common with the heavier specter of the US power metal. The press release compares the band to Iced Earth but in my opinion they sound more akin to German bands such as Rage and Brainstorm, with a tinny little dose of Tankard added. Unlike Rage, however, Thunderblast's music appear to be more all around encompassing and homogeneous, possibly due to the good Helloween-esque melodic solos and twin harmonies provided by the band's guitar players. There's not a single bad song here, and I'll mention just some of the personal faves: 'Core Domain', 'Horror At Outpost 10', 'Invaders From Another World', 'Lab From Hell' and the awesomely blasting 'War Of The Monsters'. Cheers to Pure Steel for giving us the opportunity to listen to this gem, that otherwise might have gone unnoticed by most. Crank up the volume, enjoy and be chill for the future of the real good music. [8,5]

(Asen Asenov)

 Thunderblast