Latest release from Bible Of The Devil to hit shelves in May

Bible of The Devil's sixth full length release "For The Love of Thugs & Fools" on Cruz Del Sur Music shows a band unafraid to to display their roots.

In all honesty I had never heard of Bible of The Devil before this release but the press release had the magic words "two guitar attack" and "anthemic vocals" and told me I had to give this one a listen. I'm glad I did. The last release these guys had was 2008's "Freedom Metal" and it's evident they have used the intervening years very well.

Guitarist/singer Mark Hoffman's vocals sit somewhere between Udo and Ace Frehley and not in a bad way. Although I would not describe them as anthemic they fit with the subject matter of the songs and serve them well.  

So what about those guitars? I hear classic hard rock and metal influences all over this album. Iron Maiden is very much in evidence here. The dual leads on "Night Street" are on example. "Anytime" and "Yer Boy" echo the timeless two guitar attack of Thin Lizzy. "Out For Blood" is a mix of old school Kiss mixed with Motley Crue.

All in all this is classic riffage that doesn't disappoint or overwhelm.

All in all this is one solid collection of songs. Mark Hoffmann states, "The few years since the last full-length have been like a dare. A dare to create a soaring, punishing rock 'n' roll record of this magnitude. It is a dare that we have been forced to answer ourselves." They have delivered on that. If I were to knock anything it would be the intro piece "Sexual Overture". In my opinion it didn't seem to connect with the track that followed and it is totally different from the rest of the disc.

For those of you that listen to lyrics, this one will give you some great stuff. These guys are from the rough side of Chicago and their songs deal with the life they see around them. There's some weighty stuff in here. "Can't Turn Off The Sun" is a good starting place to delve into the lyrical content.

So if all this sounds good to you then go grab "For The Love Of Thugs & Fools" when it gets released on May 8. Besides the aforementioned intro track there isn't a bad song on here. And be sure to keep an eye out for them on tour this year as well.

For more info on the band head to their official site or support them on Facebook

Devastating new Release from A Sound Of Thunder

Everyone knows I like my metal tunes to come in around 4 minutes. 

A Sound Of Thunder's new release Out Of The Darkness opens with a track that comes in at 8:31 that's almost the dreaded jam band song length. And ya know what? This track is so strong that I never noticed until I was looking at the track list.

What puts this one in a leg like that? Two words…Nina Osegueda!!!

This is one vocalist that is absolutely sonically stunning. I am blown away by her vocal abilities and she ranks right up there with Veronica Freeman and Angela Gossow in this reviewers book.

The scream at the beginning of "Fight Until The End" will firmly cement the Veronica comparison.

This is some first rate power metal on this release, the bands second after Metal Renaissance in 2011. These guys have not let up so far and I can't wait to hear what comes next. 

Besides the killer pipes from Nina there's a killer group of players in here too. Founder Josh Schwartz lays down some great guitar riffs topped with old school melodic hooky solo lines. This guy is no one trick pony. Stylistically the ten tracks on this one touch all styles and they are done to perfection.

The rhythm section? Dead nuts on beat. No over playing. No derivative masturbatory double bass over everything. The Chris Haden keeps the groove and new bassist Ben Washburn keeps it all right in the pocket weaving the drums and guitar together.

Best tracks? There ain't no bad ones but if I had to cough up the top three they would be "Fight Till The End", "Murderous Horde" and "Kill That Bitch"

Bottom Line: Melodic. Killer vox. Top notch production. This one's a metal masterpiece. Buy this now and metal your nuts off!!!

Thank You Lance and all the folks at Nightmare Records for continuing to put out killer metal like this.

I urge all you metal heads to hit the Nightmare Records site and check out all the metal goodness in store there.

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/asoundofthunder

Website: www.asoundofthunderband.com

ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/asoundofthunder

Nothin' Top Heavy about ON TOPS's latest

"Top Heavy" the latest release from East Coasters ON TOP

ON TOP has created a powerful ripping release with their latest, Top Heavy. The bands first full length release following a the three song demo Another Night Of Sleaze in 2008 and a six track EP in 2010.

The power trio plans tour this release is poised for a great year ahead.

Jaron Gulino puts forth a killer vocal performance on this one, to say nothing of his great bass work too (Witness track 9). Danny Piselli's drum style is very comparable to a cross between Wild Mick Brown and Phil Rudd. The icing on the cake is the arrival of new guitar slinger Alex Kulick (formerly of Striker). Alex stakes his claim right away on the 44 second intro track "Top Heavy" which shows off a fair bit of EVH flair and technique. That one segues into Into The night which reminded this metal head of Queenryche's "Queen of the Ryche" before going into a classic Dokken style verse and chorus. Where once again Alex runs throw a killer lead break.

Four of the tracks are redone versions of track as on the prior two releases but unlike when some bands do this and you tell the old ones form the new ones, not on this disc. It all a very cohesive disc and it all flows nicely.

Standout tracks include the aforementioned "Into The Night", "Success And Excess", and "Hot N' Wet"

If you yearn for the days of metal tunes about decadence and good times with a some anthemic stuff chucked in for good measure this release has 11 tracks of just what you are looking for. With most tracks clocking in at under 5 minutes you can listen the whole thing and be surprised at quick it all goes by. That's a good thing in these days of way too many tracks on a disc.

The bottom line ON TOP is like Dokken meets AC/DC meets Crue and results are great. FoM gives this one a buy rating.

Top Heavy can be purchased at this location: http://hpgd.comoj.com/store/hpgd036.html

ON TOP Band Links: 

http://www.reverbnation.com/ontoprock 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-Top/153690374644194

http://ontop.bandcamp.com/ http://soundcloud.com/ontoprock 

http://www.myspace.com/bandontop 

http://www.purevolume.com/ONTOP

Free Sampler from Listenable Records

Listenable Records is offering fans a free 22-track sampler, which is now available for streaming and download at sampler.listenable.net. The album, which features tracks from many Listenable's dynamic and diverse roster of artists - past and present - includes Gojira, Svart Crown, Sarah Jezebel Deva, 77, Hate, Serpent Cult and many more.  Full sampler tracklisting below:

01- TORNADO

"Hate Worldwide" taken  from the album "Amsterdamn Hellsinki"

02- GOJIRA

"Yama's Messengers" taken  from the album "The Way of All Flesh"

03- STEPHAN FORTE

"Duat" taken from the album " "The Shadows Compendium" 

04- SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA

"The World Won't Hold Your Hand" taken  from the album "The Corruption of Mercy"

05- BETRAYING THE MARTYRS

"Martyrs" taken  from the album "Breathe in Life" 

06- KATANA

"Phoenix On Fire" taken  from the album "Heads Will Roll"

07- SVARTCROWN

"Into A Demential Sea" taken  from the album "Witnessing the Fall" 

08- HATE

"Lux Aeterna" taken  from the album "Erebos"

09- HEAVENWOOD

"Once A Burden" taken  from the album "Abyss Masterpiece"

10- IZEGRIM

"Deathstrip" taken  from the album "Code of Consequences"

11- KRUGER

"Villains" taken  from the album "For Death, Glory and the End of the World"

12- PANZERCHRIST

"Impact" taken  from the album "Regiment Ragnarok"

13- TORMENTED

"Come Back from the Dead" taken  from the album "Rotten Death"

14- THE ORDER OF APOLLYON

"Never" taken  from the album "The Flesh"

15- CAVUS

"Death Rattle" taken  from the album "Fester And Putrefy"

16- 77

"High Decibels" taken  from the album "High Decibels"

17-DARKANE

"Convicted ( Live )" taken from the live cd /dvd "Layers of Live"

18- LIVARKAHIL

"The Flesh of All Damned" taken  from the album "Signs of Decay"

19- ELECTRIC MARY

"OIC" taken from the album "III" 

20- THE RED SHORE

"The Seeds of Annihilation" taken  from the album "The Avarice of Man"

21- THE ORDER OF APOLLYON

"Word" taken from the album "The Flesh"

22- SERPENT CULT

"Growth of the Soil" taken from the album "Raised by Wolves" 

www.listenable.net 

www.shop.listenable.net 

www.myspace.com/listenable 

www.twitter.com/listenable 

www.facebook.com/listenablerecs 

Life's Blood Great New Release From Widow

Released November 11th on Pure Steel Records "Life's Blood" the new release from Widow is a winner for fans of NWOBHM as well as great American metal.



Life's Blood is the North Carolina based bands fourth release and the first on Pure Steel records.
Just look at the cover art for this bad boy. That's classic metal my friends. That's what drove metalheads to explore all those unknown bands in the import bins. First look and I was whisked back to cover for the Witchfinder General classic "Friends of Hell" release.



Is the music within worthy of such a kick ass cover? Hell yeah!!!
This is 12 tracks of solid metal. None of this mono-tempo crap. We are talking about songs that build from cool intros. Just when you think you have an idea where it's going, you get a fresh twist.
NWOBHM is deceptive. It sounds simple but you have to have all things in the right measure to achieve great NWOBHM feel and Widow does it right. Crisp solid drumming, pumping bass lines, clean vocals, and twin harmonies leads...from a three piece!!!
Okay so they do the Brit bit to a tee but that ain't all they alo toss in some great American influences as well. The last band that did that as effectively as this was Tokyo Blade on their last release.

Usually I can pick out that one song from a release that is my pick from it, but not this one. Every track on this is great. I CAN however pick the coolest track name, "I Scream for Ice Queen"

Focus on Metal puts Widow's "Life's Blood" on the must have list of albums this year.
This is one of those release that you will want to listen to from track one "Lady Twilight" to track 12 "The One I Know". I know I did...and LOUD.

www.reverbnation.com/widow
www.myspace.com/widow
www.puresteel-records.com

Stay tuned to Focus on Metal to hear select tracks from this incredible metal release.

Sycco Returns

Dario Sycco returns to podcasting as a Metal Detector. On the air since 2006, Sycco (former co-host of Radioactive Metal, This Week in Metal and Focus on Metal podcasts) is not afraid to express his opinion. His large collection of metal and 30 years of metal listening experience combined with extensive knowledge of audio production help to turn Metal Detector into a metal podcast with balls and charisma. This show is all about metal discoveries with everything a discriminating metalhead would ever want including news, trivia, guests, killer music & much more. If you’re not afraid of the explosive combination of German precision, British sarcasm and Polish sense of humor produced in isolation of frozen Canadian prairies, then this might be a show for you. If you’re looking for an old-timer digging into his nostalgia box of vinyl, you may have to look elsewhere.
Episode 1 features an interview with Tony Iommi, segment on the truth behind the Big 4 of Thrash, news, trivia, great music and much more. The show is available as a free subscription via iTunes. You can also check out Dario's new website www.TrueMetalhead.com. All his former shows as well as the new Metal Detector are available on the largest metal podcast network called Cast Iron Ring.

Morbid Angel vs Death Metal

Greetings metal fans.  I have awakened from my slumber and after a week of listening to the newest Morbid Angel release and reading all of the reviews, it's time for the final word.

First off, I have a list of "must have" releases for 2011.  It includes Obscura, Origin, Opeth, Amon Amarth, Autopsy, Machine Head, Dream Theater, just to name a few.  Oh, how could I forget Morbid Angel.  I don't care when they release an album it will be a must buy for me as long as they are recording music.  It's in my Death Metal DNA.  Now I, along with the majority of all extreme metal fans as well, have been anticipating this release for nearly 8 years.  Does Illud Divinum Insanus deliver the what we expected?  Before you jump to a conclusion, let's think about that answer.  What is expected from what many consider to be one of the greatest death metal bands of all time?  Another version of Altars or Covenant?  Perhaps a continuation of Gateways or Heretic?  Just like each of you, after the first and second spin of this record, I was caught off guard.  Morbid Angel had taken a left turn and infused a style of music that we, as metal-heads, were not prepared for.  Or were we?  I am one of the fortunate fans that had been able to have a brief email correspondence with none other than Trey Azagthoth.   Over a few emails and the following of his myspace page, everything has slowly cleared my vision.  If you are a musician you are typically inspired by what you listen to, not just by what you play.  If anyone had really been paying attention to what Trey had been listening to over the years you would surely start to realize that he is a fan of heavy electronic/techno style music.  Now with that being said, it was still difficult to really give Illud a honest listen because I, too, was expecting something along the lines of Domination era Morbid Angel.  Now to the hard truth.  Illud is not a bad album, it was simply not was expected.  Morbid Angel requires you to adapt, overcome and really listen to what is going on.  Now on to the review.

Two things must be stated:  David Vincent is back and Pete Sandoval is on injured reserve.  Now with that said, I have read a lot of online reviews for this record and also this lineup.  I will openly state that if you think that replacement drummer Tim Yeung is a bad drummer not worthy enough to supply the beat on this record, than you need to have your hearing checked.  Purists may want Pete back but Tim is more than capable to handle the skins.  He is one of the best Death Metal drummers out there.  Period!  I want nothing more than to see Pete get back to 100% but until then, Tim will do just fine.

Track 1:  Omni Potens
It reminds me of Burzum.  At least prison era Burzum.

Track 2:  Too Extreme!
Not what you expected now is it.  The great vocals of Vincent are there, the crazy trademark guitar sounds of Azagthoth are there.  The lyrics are lacking in my opinion.  This sound is almost electronic with what may be a drum machine.  We are your new religion, no religion...

Track 3:  Existo Vulgore
This song is certainly what I expected.  Good tune.  Heavy as hell.  The drumming is supreme and vocals are traditional Vincent.  Weird chorus, almost catchy...

Track 4:  Blades for Baal
Oh shit, is this what I was waiting for?  Probably the best song on the album.  At least in my opinion.  Reminds me of early 90's death metal with exceptional production.  This needs to be a song played live.

Track 5:  I am Morbid
I have no idea what happened.  After track 3 and track 4, the train needed to change direction.  Although it is catchy as a song, it certainly was not expected from Morbid Angel.  Song has grown on me but still hard to digest.

Track 6:  10 More Dead
I actually like this one a lot.  The riffs and drumming set the pace for a grooving death metal song.  Funny lyrics, great production.

Track 7:  Destructos vs The Earth/Attack
With the first listen I clearly was saying what in the hell happened?  The scary thing that did happened was that this song has gotten stuck in my head and for some reason has grown on me.  No, I am neither drunk or high.  I want to hate this song but the truth is I can't get that fucking song out of my head...

Track 8:  Nevermore
Love the way this starts out.  Heavy and traditional sounding.  I was smiling while jamming this one.  It certainly has the flavor of Domination era MA.

Track 9:  Beauty Meets Beast
This songs starts out strong as well.  Not a bad song.  It feels mid paced and almost reminiscent of mid 90's death metal as well.  It will do.

Track 10:  Radikult
I don't even want to comment on this song.  Is this Metallica mixed with NWA? Skip!!!

Track 11:  Profundis-Mea Culpa
Weird song altogether.  I like it after hearing track 10.  Initially slow paced and not what I expected as an album closer.  The song picks up and actually is not as bad as most reviewers are slamming it to be.

After giving this album multiple listens and trying to figure this record out it has started to grow on me.  I initially felt that this beast was a clear failure for a legendary band that once gave me aural pleasure not matter which album I chose to spin.  That being said, I will say that my opinion is worth shit to most, but this album, although tarnished with electronic/techno style beats, is better than what many say.   I rate this album 6.5 out of 10.  That is the final word.

Let the comments begin...

SEPULTURA - Kairos cover revealed

Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA will release their new album,"Kairos" (an ancient Greek word signifying a time in between, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens) on June 24 in Europe and July 12 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork for the CD was created by Erich Sayers, a Los Angeles-based freelance digital artist and photographer whomSEPULTURA first met at the band's recent concert at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California. 

Commented Sayers: "I started by researching 'Kairos' for images and meaning as soon as the band gave me the title. 

"'Kairos' is about time, the actions we take, and the positive or negative repercussions that follow. I knew the image would have wings. I also knew I would somehow need to represent time, but in a way that is timeless. 

"Speaking with Andreas [Kisser, guitar], he had an idea for a gel skull. I was uncertain how I would make that happen, but I did and it is unique. 

"Actions and their repercussions are represented by the arms, transitioning from the strong healthy arm on top and the decrepit hand below. The background is made from a couple of photos I took on a recent trip to Morocco. They give the composition a mystical quality. 

"It was an honor for me to work with SEPULTURA. I am a longtime fan of this legendary band.

Added Kisser: "We were very lucky choosing the artist to design the cover of 'Kairos'. His name is Erich Sayers and we met him backstage at a SEPULTURA concert in Los Angeles last January. He left us his card and when we checked his website we were very impressed by his awesome work. I explained to him the concept of 'Kairos' and he fastly captured what we wanted, sending us ideas in that same week. He's a very talented guy, who knew how to draw the concept of the album. The cover is different from all the other covers we did in the past but it's 'old school’ at the same time, like the album itself. We're very happy with the result."

SEPULTURA's new CD was recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil with producer Roy Z. (JUDAS PRIEST, HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON, HELLOWEEN). 13 tracks were laid down during the sessions, including cover versions of MINISTRY's "Just One Fix" andTHE PRODIGY's "Firestarter".

"Kairos" track listing:

01. Spectrum 
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011) 
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog 
06. Mask 
(1433) 
07. Seethe 
08. Born Strong 
09.Embrace The Storm
(5772) 
10. No One Will Stand 
11. Structure Violence (Azzes)
(4648)

"Kairos" deluxe edition track listing:

01. Spectrum 
02. Kairos
03. Relentless
(2011) 
04. Just One Fix (MINISTRY cover)
05. Dialog 
06. Mask
(1433) 
07. Seethe 
08. Born Strong 
09. Embrace The Storm
(5772) 
10. No One Will Stand 
11. Structure Violence (AZZES)
(4648) 

Bonus tracks:

12. Firestarter (THE PRODIGY cover)
13. Point Of No Return

* Plus bonus making-of DVD

In a recent interview with BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Kisser was asked how the band came up with the "Kairos" title. "The whole theme of the album is the concept of the time, and the title reflects that — it's like one concept of time which is not chronological, from one to two; it's like a an instant in time, it's a special time of change," he replied, before adding, "Everyone's life is written by [their] choices — you have many 'kairos' moments, like if you go [from] point A [to point] B [to point] C, you are driven by your choices or your guidance; you have to go either one way or the other. And that's the kind of time we talked about — not about aging or getting old or going back [in time]; it's just [about those important] moments that can change everything. . .We thought about [that in regards to] SEPULTURA itself — 26 years of history and the moment where we are now; why we're here; why we're doing this album and why we have what we have; the changes we have inside and outside the band. It's a collection of 'kairos' [moments] that [got us] here. It's being inspired by our own biography, but mostly [focusing] on whatSEPULTURA is today." 

Regarding the "Kairs" artwork, Andreas said, "The artwork is done already. We had this young guy [Los Angeles-based freelance digital artist and photographer Erich Sayers] that we met backstage at our show in Hollywood, at the House of Blues, in January. This guy was a fan and he gave us his card and he sent us some artwork and it was fucking amazing; the guy is an awesome artist. And we decided to work with him on this album. We explained to him the concept and, of course, we sent him lyrics and some pictures and some sculptures, [visual] representations of 'kairos,' and he came up with a really cool design. It's woman's body figure with a skull with a type of skin that is like a gel melting with big wings and stuff. And she's holding an [hourglass] with [the SEPULTURA] tribal 'S' [logo]. it's really nice. He really worked fast and he was very creative with a lot of ideas. We were very fortunate to find a guy like this under those circumstances — at a show — and it was great to work with [someone who] was so excited to be working with us."

On the topic of the songwriting process for SEPULTURA's new CD,Andreas said, "[We] really [wanted to] keep [the album] short. One of the characteristics of the old albums [was that they didn't have a lot of songs on them] — like 'Arise' had nine songs, and 'Master Of Puppets'had nine or eight — so our idea was to have ten songs, and really [make them as good as possible], maybe add parts and think a little bit more about the riffs instead of just throwing songs out there one after the other. 'Cause with [2006's] 'Dante XXI' and 'A-Lex', it was kind of that way... especially with 'A-Lex', since it was our first album with Jean Dolabella on drums, just working with him, writing with him for the first time, it was more like a big jam. But this one, we stopped and thought more about the whole concept and we focused on being more creative in the end. After using books [as the basis of the lyrical concepts on] our past albums, and the experience of doing that, we limited ourselves [this time around] to be more creative. I think it really helps when you have a goal and focus, and it worked great on this album."

When asked about SEPULTURA's decision to work with Roy Z this time around, Kisser said, "The idea [for the new album] was really to putSEPULTURA on stage in the studio and having a producer that is [also a performing artist himself], it helps a lot [in capturing that live energy] in the [recording studio]. The album was practically recorded live; that was the idea initially — to try to be as live as possible — and more than 50 percent of first takes [is what we kept on the record]. It sounds really live and we're very happy with the chemistry we had with Roy in the studio. He really liked the idea of trying this raw approach. He didn't know the studio very well in São Paulo, but he learned [as we went along]. We didn't have too much time for pre-production [either], but everything worked out really perfectly. We were ready to record and he was very quick and smart in finding ways to [capture] the sound [we were looking for]. It was fun to record guitars with him, using different pedals and amps and stuff, and [he had] nice ideas to build really cool solos. So it was great; he was really the perfect guy for us [to work with] at this moment. . . In the end, the result is amazing; we're very happy. I think it's one of the best SEPULTURA albums that we ever did — the whole vibe and the sound and the lyrics and the songs and the style. I'm very confident that we created something really special with this one."

Photo below by Estevam Romera

Source (Blabbermouth)