Mega Colossus - Showdown (Cruz Del Sur Music) [Matt Bladen]
The heart of Raleigh, North Carolina is beating with the sound of melodic metal if Bill Fischer has anything to do with it. The guitarist/vocalist of Mega Colossus wants to make sure that their second album Showdown, improves upon their previous record Riptime, making the songs bigger, bolder and braver than ever before. Or so they say anyway. Showdown has some excellent melodic metal on it born from the influence of Riot or Manilla Road but mainly from the European styles of melodic/power metal.
Known previously as Colossus, Fischer and vocalist Sean Buchanan released a record and two EP's but then found another band of the same name, changing there's to Mega Colossus, releasing two more albums and an EP. So then Showdown is their fourth album and it's a celebration of everything good about heavy metal. Screaming twin harmonies from Fischer and Chris Millard on opener the Indiana Jones inspired Fortune And Glory, but their partnership is brilliant on every track here as the songs jump between speed metal, NWOBHM (title track) and European power metal, Outrun Infinity feeling like DragonForce, the vocals of Buchanan joyously similar to Marc Hudson of DragonForce.
Doza Mendoza's drums are rapid fire throughout but they add some groove to Grab The Sun when he slows down, and links with the big basslines of Anthony Micale. I've mentioned that there's a lot of influences from the metal sphere but a song such as Warden Of The Wicked Road draws from Styx with the dramatic, theatrical melodic prog, drawing no complaints from me as I love Styx. 20 years of performing I'm only just now hearing Mega Colossus, I feel like I've let myself down as Showdown is a great melodic metal album. 8/10
Greengoat - A.I. (Argonauta Records) [Rich Piva]
You could either say a concept album about A.I. is either timely, given the world we are living in now, or a bit too heavy handed, given how overwhelmed we are with the topic on the news, at work, on social media, etc. One thing is for sure though, if you are Spain’s Greengoat putting out said album it is all good either way, because their album about A.I. kicks all sorts of robot ass. Their first full length, aptly titled A.I., is some killer stoner/grunge with some elements of sludge that comes together to create what will be one of the best debut full lengths of the year.
Greengoat is a guitar and drums duo, but for only two of them they certainly sound huge. This is heavy and crunchy, with exhibit A in this trial for humanity being The Seed, which just rips. Who needs bass when you have that filthy guitar tone and killer drum work. A nice stoner riff kicks off the title track, and I love how guitarist/vocalist Ivan Flores plays off himself with the guitar parts. Great stuff. Human has more of that filthy tone and incorporates some heavy psych into Ivan’s playing for next level results and man do I dig that solo.
Awake doesn’t let up on any of this goodness, being the crunchiest and grungiest track on A.I. and the drum work by Ruth Moya stands out here as well. The next two tracks, Naraka I and II pack quite a one two punch, with the slow and sludgy first part (the symbols on this track sound like they were recorded in a walk-in freezer, and somehow this is a complement) and part two with a psych distortion on the guitar and a chug that makes the Naraka suite my favourite part of the record. That riff on Burn The End will melt your face, what a way to close out the story.
Yeah, this is a concept album, but what the story is I have no idea because all I can pay attention to are the filthy riffs and tone, outstanding drum work, and overall killer stoner/grunge/sludge odyssey that Greengoat brings on A.I. The best debut full length of this early 2024 and will hang all year with any other debuts that drop in the next 12 months. 9/10
Command - Resver (Jawbreaker Records) [Paul Hutchings]
Originally called Commando who formed in 2016, their sole output was 2020’s EP Rites Of Damnation. Until now. Resver (which means hallucination or delusion in ancient French) is therefore their debut album, and it’s a raw affair.
Distinctive in black metal style, it’s old school in production values and in creation, with the band stating that they have crafted a ‘complete record rather than assembling individual songs’. It’s evident from the flow of the album that this target has been achieved, for although it’s not a long record, it does sit together well. Lyrically it can be a challenge to get past the frenzied howls and shrieks, but they do delve deep into the occult, with a conceptual theme linking each song.
Preferring to keep all the tracks short, the longest being The Presence at 4:49, Command draw deep on their country’s heritage. It’s nothing new, with originality shown the door early on. Closing track Solitude for example, is a ragged track, with the musicianship loose and the overall feel very much DIY. But that’s very much what Command have decided to embark on in terms of sound, so it would be uber critical to be too negative here.
Resver isn’t going to win any prizes, it won’t make many top tens, but for those who want their black metal in an unassuming, raw, and old school focus, this may be something well worth a listen. Tracks like Twisted Mind drip with atmosphere and energy, whilst the likes of Cold Below draw more from traditional heavy metal as well as the early Nordic legends.
Ultimately, one can only applaud their efforts, and whilst this doesn’t really excite me, I can certainly engage with their ethos. 6/10
If you type the word Byron into your search engine of choice you’ll be greeted with the image of Lord Byron, the scandalous English poet whose promiscuous lifestyle shocked the nation and inspired Cradle Of Filth’s The Byronic Man from 2006’s Thornography. Try and find a band under the same name and a torrent of artists, from many different genres will appear.
The bio that comes attached to the album is of scant help; after leaving Finnish heavy metal band Church Of Void, drummer Johannes Lahti formed Byron, from the seems of things this band may have started off as more of a solo project with Lahti performing pretty much everything, releasing The Omega Evangelion in 2020. Fast forward to this year’s Chapter 2: The Lotus Covenant, a slab of classic Heavy Metal dipping its toes into the murky depths of Doom and taking its inspiration from, according to that bio, Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, not the book or original film but more specifically, the recent remake.
After Overture, the obligatory instrumental intro track plays out, The Lotus Covenant begins, vocalist Johanna Etelakari, who performed with Lahti in an act called Neon Angel, greets us strongly but I soon feel like she gets lost in the mix, the instrumentation seemingly far more important than anything she has to say.
A 60/70’s keyboard sound underscores the majority of Resignation, an understandable inclusion for a band that takes inspiration from classic rock, again those vocals feel secondary to the instrumental elements of the track, seeming to concentrate more upon the musicianship than the lyrical content. There’s quite the Folksy sound and feel to The Sword Of The Apostle and initially Johanna is in a stronger position vocally, the intro and first verse are quite stripped back, acoustic guitar and bass notes accompany her storytelling, the song picks up offering a Southern Rock accent to the groove that makes up the bulk of the 7 minute long track.
A very Iron Maiden inspired riff opens the track, Sometimes Dead Is Better, finally that nod to Pet Semetary that we were promised, as an ode to King’s material it doesn’t quite hit the spot as much as other tracks inspired by the same theme, interestingly and also annoyingly there’s a synth led refrain that winds its way through the song but only really becomes prominent within the last section as everything else fades out, which feels wasted.
I’ve only three tracks left of Byron’s Chapter 2 and The Golden Galley is next, another track that holds a more Folk feel to it and yet again the vocals are more prominent, acoustic guitar and piano parts make up the composition, there’s a violin section, various percussion instruments fill the rhythm section and of all the tracks so far it’s my favourite, it reminds me of something that Nightwish have done during their Annette Olsson years.
A male spoken word piece opens Return To Celephais, inspired by a H.P Lovecraft story, Lovecraft being an inspiration for the bands previous album, the song is little over 3 minutes and apart from that spoken word, which is a tad difficult to understand at times, an instrumental piece.
Finally onto The X, back to the galloping riffs of NWOBHM, lead guitar solos dominate the midsection and probably has one of the most hummable vocal lines on the album.
And so it’s done, those classic rock and metal influences of the 70’s and 80’s are in abundance throughout the album, the lyrical content is as fantasy based as anything you’d find in bands of a similar ilk and if it wasn’t for that feeling at times of the mix being slightly instrumental heavy then those lyrical themes would be clearer, disappointingly was the lack of doom metal, but maybe that was due to my own expectations of what doom sounds and feels like.
I’ve only three tracks left of Byron’s Chapter 2 and The Golden Galley is next, another track that holds a more Folk feel to it and yet again the vocals are more prominent, acoustic guitar and piano parts make up the composition, there’s a violin section, various percussion instruments fill the rhythm section and of all the tracks so far it’s my favourite, it reminds me of something that Nightwish have done during their Annette Olsson years.
A male spoken word piece opens Return To Celephais, inspired by a H.P Lovecraft story, Lovecraft being an inspiration for the bands previous album, the song is little over 3 minutes and apart from that spoken word, which is a tad difficult to understand at times, an instrumental piece.
Finally onto The X, back to the galloping riffs of NWOBHM, lead guitar solos dominate the midsection and probably has one of the most hummable vocal lines on the album.
And so it’s done, those classic rock and metal influences of the 70’s and 80’s are in abundance throughout the album, the lyrical content is as fantasy based as anything you’d find in bands of a similar ilk and if it wasn’t for that feeling at times of the mix being slightly instrumental heavy then those lyrical themes would be clearer, disappointingly was the lack of doom metal, but maybe that was due to my own expectations of what doom sounds and feels like.
While I’m not a huge fan of folk music, it’s those songs I found more appealing in comparison to the rest; ultimately it’s an album and band of which I’d never heard before and though I know I’ll not listen to it again, it wasn’t a completely painful experience. 5/10