SPIDER ROCKETS – BITTEN 2012

now…

Striking a balance between ’80s glam and the crunchier riffs of ’90s hard rock is not only an uneasy task, but most bands frankly suck at it entirely. New Jersey’s Spider Rockets avoid most of the crossover pitfalls by primarily sticking to sleaze touchstones, merely using the simplistic chords and loud guitars of ’90s rock to underline their glam roots.
Actually, Bitten isn’t really even so much an ’80s/’90s hybrid as it is reminiscent of those early-to-mid-’90s albums that ’80s glam bands would put out in an attempt to modernize their sound. Most of those cases were failed, misguided attempts to hang on to a fan base that was bailing on them in droves for the greener pastures of punk and grunge (think such notorious disasters such as Def Leppard‘s Slang and L.A. Guns‘ American Hardcore). The upside to this being 2012 is that punk and grunge are no longer the cash in opportunities they were 15-20 years ago, and God knows selling glam won’t get you rich anymore, so anyone currently plying these styles in a purely melodic sense are doing so in all earnestness.

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Fretless – Local Heroes 2010

Dogs D’Amour – A Graveyard of Empty Bottles MMXII (2012)

now…wow!

I think it’s love again! Hoist the flags because one of the best records ever released has gone in for a service and Mr T has souped up a near perfect 10″ record into a hot rod ride of extended tracks that, once you lift the hood and check out the reworking of these tracks, any sceptics will be able to sit back, relax and sigh with relief as to how they’ve been lovingly primed and reworked.

Clearly benefiting from time away Tyla has stripped the tracks that originally appeared and some of the others that went missing at the time and lovingly recreated them and, in my humble opinion, in many cases revved them into something better than the originals sounded.

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Hannibal – Siberia 2012

Rudhira – Ein 2012

amazing…now

“Ein” is the debut album of the Norwegian band RUDHIRA that has came to life in 2010. RUDHIRA plays a progressive kind of Dark Metal as stated by them and I have no reason to disagree with that. RUDHIRA in Sanskrit means blood but I didn’t manage to confirm that the band is named because of that. Starting from “Ein”’s cover, it reminds me of Dune but other than that I think it is mediocre. Concerning the record there are six songs that go on for approximately 40 minutes. The songs have lots of tempo changes and structures with blast beats, calm parts, sitars, galloping riffs and even some core elements. The vocals are usually clean but there are occasional Death grunts here and there. The production of the record is appropriate and enhances the overall effort of the band. The compositions have some very nice ideas but there are parts that are dull and have no reason of existence. The clean vocals are not fitting and don’t help the songs as there is no emotion within. I have mixed feelings about this record and I think in the end that the band has nothing fresh to offer. Even the ideas that they borrow could be used better. They should work more on their next release if they want to go further and not be just a local live established band.

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Royal Hunt – Heart Of The City – Best Of 2012

now..

2012, Fads and fashions may change on a yearly basis but class is timeless. The Danish boys have been delivering their brand of Progressive Power Metal for twenty years and this ´Best Of` compilation takes us on a journey through the 1990’s era of recently restored vocalist D.C. Cooper, an era which arguably saw the band gain their best commercial success and possibly produce their finest work. Remember albums such as CLOWN IN THE MIRROR and MOVING TARGET and not to mention the almighty opus that was PARADOX all represented here. It’s easy to forget how big these guys were in the 90’s especially in Japan and mainland Europe, with album sales in excess of one million units these guys certainly know what they’re doing.

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SauruXet – Saurusplaneetta 2011

HEVISAURUS!Now!

“Dinosaurs playing heavy metal to the kids”. That was the concept that Mirka Rantanen (drummer of Thunderstone) came up with a few years ago, and HEVISAURUS was born. Two highly successful albums were released under that name, but last year things went sour between Rantanen and the band’s label Sony. Lawsuits, dirty dinosaur suits and insults were flying all over the internet and media, and as a result, things are a bit complicated now. There are actually two dinosaur bands now touring and recording in Finland: Sony-owned Hevisaurus which includes the orignal vocalist and production team/songwriters and SAURUXET, Rantanen and the original live band with a new vocalist. Sauruxet were the first to release new material, and apparently the new monicker didn’t alienate them from their audience – the band went straight to number two on the Finnish Top 40 chart this week. Without diving any deeper into the waves of controversy (or is it too late already?), let’s take a look at the album…

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Rule of Two – Hair of the Dog 2012 EP

Now!Exclusive!

Dirt Rock, defined as the sour mash blend of hard rock, classic rock, blues, and metal.

Late 2011 brought about the birth of Pittsburgh, PA’s RULE OF TWO. With the band’s inception, their brand of rock n’ roll was also born: Dirt Rock, an amalgamation of blues, classic rock, and heavy metal. Beaver locals Aaron Bender (vocals/guitars) and Flavion Mancini (drums) left their alt-rock band shirtcollarsmile in order to explore their own songwriting skills and focus more on their hard rock/metal roots. After going through a multitude of bass players, Bender and Mancini were forced to place an ad in Craigslist. Lured by the promise of money, shows, and (mainly) beer, journeyman bassist Herm Staving (Downfall, ex-One Step Away, ex-Without Fail, etc.)—also a Beaver native looking for a hard rock-based project—joined the fold, rounding out the trio. Now armed with an arsenal of material and a six-song EP, Hair of the Dog, RULE OF TWO is bringing Dirt Rock to any and all venues that will open their doors to the band. So stop by a show, buy a CD, maybe get the guys a beer; experience the unique sounds grown from these roots.

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ISÄNTÄ MEIDÄN – Toinen tuleminen 2011

now…rrrhhhh

Besides the ordered EP of Caroline, the label Hyena Records has also sent us the latest album of Isäntä Meidän. The album entitled “Toinen Tuleminen” [The Second Coming] represents, logically, the second release of the quintet from Kokkola/Finland. The album cover promises Metal and even though the press release specifies the genre with Heavy Metal and Heavy Rock, in the end it`s rather Power Metal than anything else – and thus it isn`t really my taste. BUT, the opener “Vapise Vanha Valta” has a nice intro, starts in a strong way and the chorus knows how to please even a non-Power Metal fan like me. The guitar sound on the second track “Mies” is intoxicating as well. The dramatic shouts – which are typical for this genre and appear besides “Mies” amongst others on “Mestarin

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White Flame – I Know Where You Live 2012 (single)

Finnish rockers, White Flame have released a new single, “I Know Where You Live”.

Download