Episode 116

Verdict Grunge

Get/stream Episode 116 here

Did Grunge really kill metal? The long held opinion here in the states is a resounding YES but what about the rest of the world. This week Richie weighs in with the opinion from across the pond.

Our track of the week is from Pure Steel artists Steel Raiser from their second release "Regeneration" which was released this week. We think you are gonna like these guys. This is a solid slab of pure metal goodness direct from Italy. Check out more about the band at

http://www.myspace.com/steelraiser

http://www.reverbnation.com/steelraiser

https://www.facebook.com/SteelRaiserOfficial

And as always Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Review - Steel Raiser - Regeneration

Holy Shit
Let me repeat that, Ho-Lee Shit

If you are a fan of Painkiller era Priest and you can afford to buy just one album this month then this is the one to buy.
Released on January 25th of Pure Steel, Steel Raiser's second full length release Regeneration is pure metal amazement. What the hell is in the water in Italy? It's like these guys have been basking in the purest metal energy direct from Birmingham.
Vocalist Alfonso Giordano has channeled the styles of both Rob Halford and Metal Church's David Wayne to dramatic effect. Every song on here is a no holds barred vocal performance. The guy has got a great range. In fact the vocal on Love is Unfair (the closest thing to a ballad and it ain't that close) could almost be mistaken for Kingdom Come's Lenny Wolf.

Guitars? Gian Luca Rossi and Giuseppe Seminara pull off some tight and tasty riffing that nicely propel every track on here and the rythmn section of Salvo Pizzimento on bass and Antonio Portale on the skins put in a flawless performance. There's a real Scott Travis influence on the drums and I'm talking classic Racer-X era Travis.

Every song on this puppy is sure to satisfy those metal fans looking for metal with firm roots in the early to mid eighties. If you crave the sound of a Marshall JCM800 you'll like this disc. 9 songs coming in under 45 minutes. This disc is just the right amount of metal in a single package. There's no complex arrangements just straight out classic metal. Sometimes that's all ya need.

And the artwork? Again classic. Look at this thing. Flames, destruction, and a great logo.

Do yourself a favor and grab this one. This one ranks a 10 out of 10.

STEEL RAISER - "REGENERATION" – RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 25, 2013

STEEL RAISER from Italy finished her second album called “Regeneration”. The official release date will be the 25th of January 2013. The album is available as CD and as digital download.

STEEL RAISER released their debut album “Race of Steel” on Pure Steel Records in 2008. With this album, they demonstrated their passion for classic, powerful heavy metal, and thus were offered to be the opener at Swordbrothers Festival in 2009.
With their second album, “Regeneration”, they now have even more to offer: A fat and powerful double-bass, 80s riffs, and rough high-pitch-vocals which sound like a mixture of Rob Halford, Udo Dirkschneider and David Wayne, sometimes reminding a bit of PRIEST’s “Painkiller”. The straight songs (track 4 & 6) are probably the ones that are ideal for metalheads: Concise riffs, a tight grooving rhythm and a simple-structured, yet effective songwriting.
What more do you need? Fans of conventional metal will discover an interesting new-comer-band, which can give them all the need!
Raise the steel!

Tracklist:

1 Cyber Laser 

2 Finalizer 

3 Regeneration 

4 Magic Circle  

5 Wings of the Abyss  

6 Metal Maniac  

7 Love is unfair  

8 Executioner  

9 Chains of Hate  

total playtime:: 43:08 min

Line-Up:
vocals - Alfonso Giordano (ex-Noble Savage)
bass, guitars - Gianluca Rossi (ex-Valkija)
guitars - Giuseppe Seminara (Noble Savage)
bass - Salvo Pizzimento
drums - Antonio Portale

http://www.facebook.com/SteelRaiserOfficial

http://www.reverbnation.com/steelraiser

http://www.lastfm.de/music/Steel+Raiser

http://www.myspace.com/steelraiser