Manowar: The Final Battle EP I (Magic Circle Music) [Matt]
"It's the end of the world as we know it" one would be intrigued to see what Michael Stipe would think of Manowar, however this EP does indeed signal the end. It's the first part of three special releases in conjunction with their globe trotting Final Battle World Tour, consisting of four new songs it was recorded at the bands Valhalla Studios, it sees them, and I quote "utilizing the unparalleled power of their PMC statement monitors with over 27,000 watts of ground-shaking clarity". Once again clad in the fantasy art of Ken Kelly, March Of The Heroes Into Valhalla is an orchestral cinematic opening to this last ride into glory, building up with choirs, swelling strings as things get more epic by the second.
However those riffs come in Joey DeMaio's booming bass taking control as Eric Adams snarls about lighting and thunder on Blood And Steel and referencing those black winds from so many years ago, everything about this track somes up why Manowar are seen as the epitome of 'true metal' oozing with machismo (toxic or otherwise) and po-faced seriousness for the music they play. Then we get to what Manowar do best, overblown epic sounding metal, Sword Of The Highlands sounds like it was scored for Lord Of The Rings and has Adams whispering about the clan battles of old (shame they aren't playing any Scottish dates) as his voice builds and builds into a colossal ballad of glory, triumph and tragedy.
The EP is rounded out by You Shall Die Before I Day a song that's unlike anything else in the Manowar catalogue as the distorted bass riffs are met by Joey DeMaio himself on the vocals for this thundering semi-doom number. Always a band that have caused controversy or even been a subject of ridicule Manowar have maintained their status in the metal world by having the songs to back it up and these four tracks signal the beginning of a glorious end. 8/10
Iced Earth: Enter The Realm (Century Media) [Matt]
So as one band ends one goes back to the beginning as this is a vinyl re-release of American metal titans Iced Earth's one and only demo. It's the second retrospective from Jon Schaffer after the Purgatory release late last year, this one has been mastered from the original tapes and brought out for the first time on vinyl. This is the blueprint for what was to come in their long career, it cements the the importance of those Jon Schaffer guitar riffs and the occult/historical lyrics with Nightmares having that thrash meets classic metal style that Iced Earth are renowned for now, yes Gene Adam's vocals are not as good as any of his successors but it's that rawness of a band laying their gauntlet down that will get this EP noticed. It is almost especially for completionists but if you want to possess a piece of IE history then pick up Enter The Realm. 7/10
Sin Theta: S/T (Self Released) [Paul H]
This is a five-track EP from five-piece Sin Theta from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who describe their sound as progressive thrash. The intro segues into Thy Bloody Kingdom, Thy Bloody Deeds, which does indeed back up the description of their sound. Complex time changes and shifts in tempo combined with an undercurrent of heavy thrash throughout all aided by a superb vocal performance from vocalist Lundi Reed. At just shy of nine minutes in length, this is a bold statement for an opening track, but it works well, the band knitting tightly together and aided by a decent production. Obsolescence follows, a solid, chunky song with plenty of thick riffs. The delicate instrumental The Everflowing Tide brings a different side to the band before they conclude this interesting EP with the crushing Nefarious. Plenty of potential here and band that are worth keeping in range. 7/10
Stahlmann: Kinder Der Sehnsucht (AFM Records) [Polly]
For those of you that don’t know Stahlmann are a four piece NDH band that have the right algorithm of hard rock and electronic/industrial vibes. The vocals are an area on the album that stick out the most for me however it does seem that the band haven’t taken many creative risks with the album. Wahrheit oder Pflicht has an eerie intro of a children’s voice before the track hits force, it’s definitely one of the many that needs to be listened to on full blast, the electronic pauses bridge into the chorus well.
Some of the tracks on here have a few aspects that seem quite repetitive in the hard rock genre (and not always for the best) the other contributions of NDH music is what has saved the overall rating of the album. The ‘Woah’ background vocals in Die Besten just seem unnecessary, the song was more than fine if this wasn’t included, it ruins the song and it just isn’t necessary. Other than that, I enjoyed the instrumental pace working with the vocals. Neub Kebeb Fallt has a more electronic feel to it which is a big win if it’s done correctly. The track is a great success, with the tone reducing on the verses and blaring into a heavy rock vibe on the chorus, it works well.
Kinder Der Sehnsucht also the title of the album is definitely one of the tracks that stuck out and again, if it wasn’t for the unnecessary ‘woah’ through the track it would be just fine. Some tracks of this album were superb, others were adequate but could have been made so much better if it wasn’t for unnecessary back-up vocals, Mart Soer's voice is powerful and does not require assistance with elevating this on any occasion throughout the album. If boundaries were pushed a bit more I feel that this piece could be so much more than just another industrial/electronic/rock band. 6/10
"It's the end of the world as we know it" one would be intrigued to see what Michael Stipe would think of Manowar, however this EP does indeed signal the end. It's the first part of three special releases in conjunction with their globe trotting Final Battle World Tour, consisting of four new songs it was recorded at the bands Valhalla Studios, it sees them, and I quote "utilizing the unparalleled power of their PMC statement monitors with over 27,000 watts of ground-shaking clarity". Once again clad in the fantasy art of Ken Kelly, March Of The Heroes Into Valhalla is an orchestral cinematic opening to this last ride into glory, building up with choirs, swelling strings as things get more epic by the second.
However those riffs come in Joey DeMaio's booming bass taking control as Eric Adams snarls about lighting and thunder on Blood And Steel and referencing those black winds from so many years ago, everything about this track somes up why Manowar are seen as the epitome of 'true metal' oozing with machismo (toxic or otherwise) and po-faced seriousness for the music they play. Then we get to what Manowar do best, overblown epic sounding metal, Sword Of The Highlands sounds like it was scored for Lord Of The Rings and has Adams whispering about the clan battles of old (shame they aren't playing any Scottish dates) as his voice builds and builds into a colossal ballad of glory, triumph and tragedy.
The EP is rounded out by You Shall Die Before I Day a song that's unlike anything else in the Manowar catalogue as the distorted bass riffs are met by Joey DeMaio himself on the vocals for this thundering semi-doom number. Always a band that have caused controversy or even been a subject of ridicule Manowar have maintained their status in the metal world by having the songs to back it up and these four tracks signal the beginning of a glorious end. 8/10
Iced Earth: Enter The Realm (Century Media) [Matt]
So as one band ends one goes back to the beginning as this is a vinyl re-release of American metal titans Iced Earth's one and only demo. It's the second retrospective from Jon Schaffer after the Purgatory release late last year, this one has been mastered from the original tapes and brought out for the first time on vinyl. This is the blueprint for what was to come in their long career, it cements the the importance of those Jon Schaffer guitar riffs and the occult/historical lyrics with Nightmares having that thrash meets classic metal style that Iced Earth are renowned for now, yes Gene Adam's vocals are not as good as any of his successors but it's that rawness of a band laying their gauntlet down that will get this EP noticed. It is almost especially for completionists but if you want to possess a piece of IE history then pick up Enter The Realm. 7/10
Sin Theta: S/T (Self Released) [Paul H]
This is a five-track EP from five-piece Sin Theta from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who describe their sound as progressive thrash. The intro segues into Thy Bloody Kingdom, Thy Bloody Deeds, which does indeed back up the description of their sound. Complex time changes and shifts in tempo combined with an undercurrent of heavy thrash throughout all aided by a superb vocal performance from vocalist Lundi Reed. At just shy of nine minutes in length, this is a bold statement for an opening track, but it works well, the band knitting tightly together and aided by a decent production. Obsolescence follows, a solid, chunky song with plenty of thick riffs. The delicate instrumental The Everflowing Tide brings a different side to the band before they conclude this interesting EP with the crushing Nefarious. Plenty of potential here and band that are worth keeping in range. 7/10
Stahlmann: Kinder Der Sehnsucht (AFM Records) [Polly]
For those of you that don’t know Stahlmann are a four piece NDH band that have the right algorithm of hard rock and electronic/industrial vibes. The vocals are an area on the album that stick out the most for me however it does seem that the band haven’t taken many creative risks with the album. Wahrheit oder Pflicht has an eerie intro of a children’s voice before the track hits force, it’s definitely one of the many that needs to be listened to on full blast, the electronic pauses bridge into the chorus well.
Some of the tracks on here have a few aspects that seem quite repetitive in the hard rock genre (and not always for the best) the other contributions of NDH music is what has saved the overall rating of the album. The ‘Woah’ background vocals in Die Besten just seem unnecessary, the song was more than fine if this wasn’t included, it ruins the song and it just isn’t necessary. Other than that, I enjoyed the instrumental pace working with the vocals. Neub Kebeb Fallt has a more electronic feel to it which is a big win if it’s done correctly. The track is a great success, with the tone reducing on the verses and blaring into a heavy rock vibe on the chorus, it works well.
Kinder Der Sehnsucht also the title of the album is definitely one of the tracks that stuck out and again, if it wasn’t for the unnecessary ‘woah’ through the track it would be just fine. Some tracks of this album were superb, others were adequate but could have been made so much better if it wasn’t for unnecessary back-up vocals, Mart Soer's voice is powerful and does not require assistance with elevating this on any occasion throughout the album. If boundaries were pushed a bit more I feel that this piece could be so much more than just another industrial/electronic/rock band. 6/10