Nordjevel: Necrogenesis (Osmose Productions) [Rich]
I first heard Nordjevel last year and was completely taken aback by how good they were considering they had only been in existence for a mere three years. Their debut album and the follow EP were insanely strong and savage slabs of Norwegian black metal which seemed to tick all the boxes for me. The band has undergone some line up changes over the last year adding new guitarist Destructhor (formerly of Morbid Angel and Myrkskog) and new drummer Dominator (formerly of The Wretched End and Dark Funeral) to their ranks and the result is Necrogenesis an album that builds on the strengths of the previous releases and expands and surpasses them. Yep this is a phenomenal album. Nordjevel seem to take the best bits from several other black metal bands and combine them to make a sound that is their own.
You have the raw and nihilistic sound of classic Norwegian black metal, the melody from bands such as Dark Funeral and Necrophobic, the black and roll approach of bands such as Satyricon and Vreid and a big splash of thrash metal. These elements all combined together make for a truly vicious listening experience. From start to finish this album rips and tears from the savagery of opener Sunset Glow, The Idea Of One-Ness, Amen Whores and the crushing epic finale of Panzerengel. The album is littered with awesome tremolo riffs, snare shattering blast beats and the unholy screams of frontman Doedsadmiral. The album is ably assisted by a blistering mix which manages to be both crystal clear and filthy in equal measure. Nordjevel have sent my jaw agape with Necrogenesis. It meets all my hopes and expectations of a black metal album and manages to surpass them. If there is a black metal album to top this in 2019 then it’s gotta be some extra special. 9/10
Tug Of War: Soulfire (Escape Records) [Matt]
What we've got here is some slick West Coast AOR, music built for beach side days and long open top car journeys. You'd probably be surprised to hear that the band is European (mainly Swedish) and the singer Canadian, not that it matters as guitarist/producer/songwriter Tommy Denander has found an absolutely A+ talent with unknown Canadian vocalist BK Morrison who has a velvet set of pipes sounding most like Mr Coverdale though on the poppier songs he's got a touch of Lou Gramm. My Soul Is A Ghost Town is better than any Whitesnake song since Ready An Willing , a slinky brooding number with Morrison in full Coverdale heartbreak. As I said this is West Coast AOR, so it's a melting pot of blues, soul and hard rock with Denander writing everything from the synthy Somewhere In The Past, the riffy Bullet With Your Name (Van Halen anyone?), the bluesy Come Home and the anthemic Fade To Black, but it's Morrison who keeps the attention, handling every song with the same total professionalism and natural talent of singer's who have been doing this much longer. I'm not sure where Morrison has been but I'm glad Denander found him as he makes these good AOR songs great. Soulfire is an excellent debut album, perfect with summer right around the corner. 8/10
West Of Hell: Blood Of The Infidel (Self Released) [Pascal]
I was almost about to overlook this Canadian outfit from Vancouver on my first listen. Initially I thought it was just another crossover, thrash, power metal band with an old school flavour. But for some reasons I was intrigued. Was it the tightness of the rhythm section? The impeccable musicianship of Sean Parkinson (lead guitar)? Or maybe it was simply because of Chris Valago the excellent vocalist? Musically it’s rich, with distinctive influences alongside more modern elements. Imagine early Pantera meets Geoff Tate. Most of the tracks are between 6 and 8 minutes but this is not a prog by any stretch. The template for the 7 songs on this full length about rage, rapid breaks, epic tempos and ferocious riffs.
Tug Of War: Soulfire (Escape Records) [Matt]
What we've got here is some slick West Coast AOR, music built for beach side days and long open top car journeys. You'd probably be surprised to hear that the band is European (mainly Swedish) and the singer Canadian, not that it matters as guitarist/producer/songwriter Tommy Denander has found an absolutely A+ talent with unknown Canadian vocalist BK Morrison who has a velvet set of pipes sounding most like Mr Coverdale though on the poppier songs he's got a touch of Lou Gramm. My Soul Is A Ghost Town is better than any Whitesnake song since Ready An Willing , a slinky brooding number with Morrison in full Coverdale heartbreak. As I said this is West Coast AOR, so it's a melting pot of blues, soul and hard rock with Denander writing everything from the synthy Somewhere In The Past, the riffy Bullet With Your Name (Van Halen anyone?), the bluesy Come Home and the anthemic Fade To Black, but it's Morrison who keeps the attention, handling every song with the same total professionalism and natural talent of singer's who have been doing this much longer. I'm not sure where Morrison has been but I'm glad Denander found him as he makes these good AOR songs great. Soulfire is an excellent debut album, perfect with summer right around the corner. 8/10
West Of Hell: Blood Of The Infidel (Self Released) [Pascal]
I was almost about to overlook this Canadian outfit from Vancouver on my first listen. Initially I thought it was just another crossover, thrash, power metal band with an old school flavour. But for some reasons I was intrigued. Was it the tightness of the rhythm section? The impeccable musicianship of Sean Parkinson (lead guitar)? Or maybe it was simply because of Chris Valago the excellent vocalist? Musically it’s rich, with distinctive influences alongside more modern elements. Imagine early Pantera meets Geoff Tate. Most of the tracks are between 6 and 8 minutes but this is not a prog by any stretch. The template for the 7 songs on this full length about rage, rapid breaks, epic tempos and ferocious riffs.
Have a listen to Chrome Eternal or The Machine to measure the full extent of Chris’s vocal abilities. West Of Hell is an interesting listening experience. It's not love at first sight or fatal attraction but I have been dragged back to titles like Infidels or The Dark Turn with their strong melodies and their superb vocals. Sound wise it's not too far from the slower songs of Lost Society or Death Angel on some other tracks. It does also remind me of Chemical Rage from Portland but West Of Hell is far more homogeneous in their proposition even if it's only their second album 7 years after their first effort. The production is very decent for a self release and for that alone they deserve the utmost respect. 8/10
King Zebra: King Zebra (Self Released) [Pascal]
King Zebra all the way from Zurich Switzerland. Eric St Michaels (ex China) is the new lead singer on this 5 track EP which has only two new songs along with some re-recorded numbers. They have had numerous albums with different singers but they are always heavily oriented towards the 80’s and glam hard rock in particular. But if this was a talent competition the judges would say that the production is just alright, the titles are predictable and the song writing is not very innovative. Admittedly they use the backing vocals the same way we did with Black’ N’Blue on Firewalker or Like A Hurricane. The Ratt style intro on King Zebra is pretty good but the overall track does not deliver its promise, they need to do better if they want people to take more notice, they tend to go through the motions on Bad Reputation and What I Like. They remind me of acts like Pink Cream 69 or Panini but what would Simon Cowell say? I think he'd stick with my score of 4/10
King Zebra: King Zebra (Self Released) [Pascal]
King Zebra all the way from Zurich Switzerland. Eric St Michaels (ex China) is the new lead singer on this 5 track EP which has only two new songs along with some re-recorded numbers. They have had numerous albums with different singers but they are always heavily oriented towards the 80’s and glam hard rock in particular. But if this was a talent competition the judges would say that the production is just alright, the titles are predictable and the song writing is not very innovative. Admittedly they use the backing vocals the same way we did with Black’ N’Blue on Firewalker or Like A Hurricane. The Ratt style intro on King Zebra is pretty good but the overall track does not deliver its promise, they need to do better if they want people to take more notice, they tend to go through the motions on Bad Reputation and What I Like. They remind me of acts like Pink Cream 69 or Panini but what would Simon Cowell say? I think he'd stick with my score of 4/10