RAGDOLL – Here Today (2012)

Sometimes you get that feeling that you are hearing something that could be rather important. Something that could just explode.
After hearing RAGDOLL’s “Here Today” I am absolutely convinced that this band from Perth, Western Australia, is destined for great things.

This melodic rock, eighties-influenced hard rock band have a sound which belongs to big arenas. Indeed it’s hard to believe this is an independent release.
Every track here is a winner; it’s as simple as that.

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SOLDIERFIELD – BURY THE ONES WE LOVE 2012

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Soldierfield is a relatively young band, formed only in 2011, but not without some experienced players from the UK metal scene. These include Leigh Oates (Order Of Voices, Rise To Addiction) on vocals, Andy Trott and Steve Wray (Rise To Addiction, BLAZE), and Jeff Singer (Paradise Lost, BLAZE, Kill II This, China Beach) on drums. Their debut EP, Bury the Ones We Love offers five tracks, a prelude to a full-length album in 2013. (more…)

Salma Gandhi – The Quest For Nonsense Never Ends 2012

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From the folks at Transubstans Records/Record Heaven comes the Swedish instrumental band called Salma Gandhi. Not content to swim in the retro hard rock, metal, and doom waters that so many other acts from Sweden seem to be doing these days, the oddly named Salma Gandhi instead have created quirky intrumental pieces that touch on jazz, pop, prog, blues, punk, and stoner elements.

Many of the tracks here are fun to listen to, and have a unique sound, especially “Mulholland Mustard In The Custard”, “Paranoid Cow On A Mushroom Lawn” (love these songs titles!), and the epic post-rock/psychedelia of “Santa Da Luna Pa Ruskie”. The dark & spooky “Dr. Steveroll I Presume” has a spacey, jazzy, psychedelic feel to it that is quite appealing, but you are almost left waiting for the band to really break out with something earthshattering, which they rarely do.

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Whyzdom – Blind? 2012

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Just when you think the Dutch have mastered Symphonic metal, the French band Whyzdom is crashing on the scene with their orchestral arrangements and heavy melodies.  After having gone through temporary vocalists to fill a void, they finally secured the services of Elvyne Lorient for full-time duty.  Her soothing and enchanting vocal style softens the crushing riffs and provides an equal balance between the heavy and the not-so-heavy melodies.  The new album Blind? has 11 songs and packs over an hour of Symphonic metal that should appeal greatly to fans of the metal subgenre.

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KILL RITUAL – The Serpentine Ritual 2012

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American thrashers KILL RITUAL signed a deal with SCARLET RECORDS, which will be held October 30 release of their debut album “The Serpentine Ritual”. It was recorded in the studios of Fang and Fossil Sound, a sound engineer was guitarist Steve Rice. Mixing and mastering had Andy La Rocque of KING DIAMOND, has recorded a guest solo on the track “Coat Of Blood”. Rice: “So KILL RITUAL’s debut will be released on physical media efforts Scarlet Records. This catalog label tons of great teams and great distribution throughout world, so that we can cover so many metal maniacs as possible. Prepare to thrash out of San Francisco!

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Francesco Marras – Black Sheep 2012

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Usually a guitarist who choose to jump on a solo project can take two roads. The first is to realize an album that sees the vocal parts assigned to a number of guests, the second one is to realize an album closely instrumental.
This second path is the one that usually scares me more because the risk of being faced with an album “all technical and little soul” for me is always very high, especially if we add to this an artist proviente a “musical territory” in which the shredder are the masters. Needless to say the record that I am in his hands and called Black Sheep by Francesco Marras along this second path, and also the roots of Francesco Marras’ Sardinian artist and mastermind behind the Screaming Shadow and Black Demons, are rooted in power metal.

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KHAØS – Rising 2012

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KHAØS, the Swiss/American band featuring Chandler Mogel (OUTLOUD) on vocals, Mark Rossi (TRIBAL) on guitar, N I c Angileri (JORN) on bass and Trevor Franklin (ELIS) on drums, will release its debut EP, “Rising”, worldwide on all digital platforms on October 29 via MarkRossi Records.
KHAØS was formed in June 2012 around the idea of making music without any kind of compromises. The band name itself reveals the main musical target: to let creativity, musicality and energy flow, destroying barriers and breaking through obstacles. Music itself is the centerpiece of this work. Four people, four cities, five stories.

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Intuition – A Season To Rock 2012

now!Hollidays..!!!

Fresh off his acclaimed solo CD Tapestry Of Souls (Shredguy Records), guitarist CHRIS BICKLEY joins up with INTUITION to create the Christmas CD A Season To Rock.

According to a press release, Intuition is a band formed by an international collection of musicians who spent the last year writing, arranging, and recording a new concept Christmas CD. The idea was to put together a collection of well known Christmas tunes without simply re-recording the original. In this project the band reworked the songs with extended intros, solo sections, and interesting arrangements, while trying to maintain a heavy rock style.  (more…)

Blues Bastard – Same 2012

now!From Austria!

Blues Jimmy Rotten Bastard. The Austrian brings “Bastard Blues” his debut album on the market. Respect! Except for Mathias Magerle on drums, the protagonist has all the instruments on their own. On the Facebook page is the following: “The goal of BLUES BASTARDS is not to reinvent the musical wheel, or even to perform playful excellence – it’s more about the fun of horny music off any cliches or the division thinking.” the question of whether you can stand on rock, in my opinion always be answered with ‘yes’.

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DAS BEBEN – Abgeher 2012

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Caution! The quake could be at the upcoming 28th October trigger a tsunami and can spill over the land away, the dimensions are not yet predictable. The epicenter of the quake is located in Kiel and is titled “Abgeher”. The “Abgeher” is caused by four musicians, singer machine, guitarist Bill Over, jazz bassist and drummer Allan Morales Bogdan, who has only one thing in mind, to the audience to impress with hard hitting German rock. But what of the music lover has to be expected? Does he fear that they move to a shelter or even completely take flight to need?

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