Amorphis' 'Queen of Time' - Album Review

Despite starting out as a death metal act when they formed in 1990, Finland's Amorphis have grown to become one of the most sophisticated and interesting bands of the modern metal scene. While never totally abandoning their death metal roots, the band have evolved their sound over the years to incorporate elements of gothic metal, folk, and progressive music to create a hybrid sound that is hard to pigeonhole. The band, who are approaching their thirtieth anniversary together, have unsurprisingly gone through various styles and moods on their journey to their current sound, but the Amorphis that was recognise today started back in 2005 when current frontman Tomi Joutsen joined the band. Joutsen's arrival moved the band out of the folky progressive rock phase the band cultivated during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and injected some of the heaviness that characterised the band's early work back into their sound. Joutsen was hired for his harsh vocal abilities, but he also possess a strong and soaring clean delivery - something which the band have made liberal use of throughout his thirteen years as frontman. In my opinion, since Joutsen's arrival, Amorphis have not released a bad album. 2006's Eclipse established the melodic, murky sound that Amorphis follow going forward, and each album has refined this formula or slightly tinkered with its ingredients. This good work culminated on 2015's Under the Red Cloud (which I reviewed here), which I consider to be one of the band's finest offerings. A heavier dose of folk was added to their established sound, which helped to create a dense and progressive album that was full of soulful melodies and mournful choruses. Amorphis' music is often extremely memorable, but at the same time dense and emotional - a combination that is rare. I think that this is the reason why I keep returning to their albums, as the melodies bury themselves in my brain while the lyrics and musical tapestries paint such a vivid picture of the mythology they are based around. In many ways Queen of Time, the band's newest effort, follows in the same vein of what has come before. The band's thirteenth album is typical of their other recent efforts, but takes on more of an overtly-progressive feel. Under the Red Cloud focused on folkier sounds, which are still present here, but Queen of Time creates a denser, more layered sound that is harder to initially penetrate but reaps rewards for those who do. The songs here are slightly longer than average for Amorphis, and they take more twists and turns than usual. Layers of synths give the album a strong sense of identity, while Esa Holopainen's guitar leads and Joutsen's vocal diversity make the album quintessential Amorphis. This album has also seen the band's first line-up change since 2005, as original bassist Olli-Pekka Laine rejoined the band last year to replace the long-standing Niclas Etelävuori who left the band due to disagreements over how the band was being managed. This is Laine's first Amorphis album since 1999's Tuonela, and the first time that all four of the band's founding members have played on an album together since 1994's seminal Tales from the Thousand Lakes.

The Bee, one of the album's lead singles, kicks the hour or so of new music off with a dancing synth melody set atop a swirling Middle Eastern backing. Wordless female vocals add to the ambience, before Joutsen unleashes one of his trademark growls as a muscular riff from the band's two guitarists kick in. The song is typical of Amorphis' modern sound, with a heavy verse mixing in well with a more melancholic chorus. Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari lay down a heavy mid-paced guitar rhythm during the verses, with Santeri Kallio's keyboards adding a retro-sounding growl counter-melody. Harsh vocals dominate the verses, but Joutsen displays his rumbling, melancholic cleans during the choruses which make use of the intro synth pattern which perfectly fits the crooned lyrical vocal style. The folky melodies that were the focus of Under the Red Cloud return with a force during the next song, Message in the Amber, with traditional folk instruments providing the main melodies during the song's intro. The bulk of the verses here are extremely sparse, with Joutsen's almost-whispered vocals paired with a simple percussive drum beat from Jan Rechberger and muted clean guitar melodies. The song does not stay this way for long however, as there are extended periods here that ramp up the heaviness. As the song builds towards the chorus, the song beefs up and this culminates in a powerful chorus led by Joutsen's throat-ripping growls as the folky melodies from the intro return to take a darker turn. The band's progressive tendencies are displayed in a choral-led section which sees an effects-heavy choral section taking over vocally to deliver sweet melodies atop a somewhat lumbering riff. The contrast works well, and showcases that the band are willing to step out of their comfort zone and include elements into their songwriting that they have not made a great use of previously. Daughter of Hate opens with a grand organ chord and a guitar riff that sounds surprisingly similar to Def Leppard's Women (not a comparison I was expect to make!). Rather than morphing into a 1980s piece of melodic rock, the song explodes into a heavy riff that soon gives way to a somewhat gothic verse with Joutsen's deep clean vocals rhythmically delivering the lyrics over Laine's piercing bassline. This is another song that showcases the band's progressive side, with a liberal use of saxophone throughout courtesy of Jørgen Munkeby (Shining). Amorphis have used saxophones before, but it is not something that has been included on one of their albums for a while. The instrument works however and provides a jazzy turn when you are not expecting it. There are plenty of classic Amorphis moments here too however, with a gorgeous slow guitar solo from Holopainen standing particularly out. This leads into a spoken word section delivered by the band's long-time lyricist Pekka Kainulainen, with his deep voice contributing to the atmosphere perfectly.

After a song that took a few diversions from the norm, The Golden Elk returns to the band's more traditional formula with plenty of soaring guitar leads from Holopainen and Kallio's dense keyboard arrangements. Joutsen moves between harsh and clean vocals with ease, but there seems to be a focus on his cleans here with a soaring chorus proving to be the song's focal point. The choruses on the album so far have not been as instantly memorable as some of the band's other recent efforts, but this is one that is sure to instantly hit home as Joutsen croons the surprisingly uplifting melodies with ease. An Oud solo, performed by Affif Merhej, provides an interesting slight diversion from the norm towards the end - but this change is short lived as another run through of the chorus is just around the corner. Wrong Direction, another of the album's singles, is another classic Amorphis track with a great, tricky guitar melody providing an early focus before a simplified version of it forms the basis of a rolling, percussive verse which sees Joutsen delivering the vocals in a semi-spoken fashion. Another huge chorus with hooks you could hang your coat on is never far away, with melodies that are sure to make the song a real winner when played live. I particularly like the way that the guitar melodies are extremely similar throughout the piece, with the exception of a folky mid-section with effects-heavy vocals, which helps to create a unified vibe. The verses and choruses flow in each other perfectly, and provide the perfect statement as to the band's current sound. Heart of the Giant opens with a clean guitar instrumental section, before exploding into a piece of dark symphonic metal with bombastic strings, subtle choral vocals, and a tough metal rhythm. The mix of melody and brutality is strong here, with Joutsen's harsh vocals during the verses mixing well with Holopainen's guitar leads. Throughout this album it tends to be the clean vocal sections that grab me the most, but the verses found in this song are a great example of Joutsen's growling prowess. The vocals are barked in an aggressive way, but still provide enough melody to make them easily enjoyable. The transition into the more delicate chorus is excellent too, providing a seamless link between the light and the shade. Kallio gets a chance to show off part-way through the song with an excellent keyboard solo too. We Accursed has a great folky intro, with the organic instruments once again provided by Chrigel Glanzmann (Eluveitie) as well as his Eluveitie bandmate Matteo Sisti, but this vibe does not really last as the piece soon opens up into one of the more consistently-heavy pieces on the album. Joutsen's harsh vocals dominate here, and the two guitarists find plenty of enjoyment in rolling out the tough riffs and peeling off soaring leads. An instrumental mid-section that sees both Holopainen and Kallio trading leads recalls the progressive hard rock bands of the 1970s. Fans of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep will recognise the style, and it is great to see two modern musical greats following in the footsteps of the legends that influenced them.

Grain of Sand is a slower, heavier song that recalls some of the great doom bands - with potential comparisons with bands like Paradise Lost to be made. The guitarists lay down a sluggish rhythm throughout, with the keyboards providing sparkling melodies to compensate, and Joutsen swaps off between clean and harsh vocals regularly to keep things interesting. While not exactly a bad song, it is probably my least favourite on the album as it is the least memorable. The hooks here are harder to find, but I do enjoy the fact that the band tried to change the pace here with much of the song moving at a much slower tempo than the vast majority of the rest of the album. Amongst Stars gets the album back on the winning track with a melodic, melancholic piece that features the distinctive vocal talents of Anneke Van Giersbergen (The Gathering; The Gentle Storm; Vuur). She has such a unique, shimmering voice; and she fits in with Amorphis' darker sound perfectly. Joutsen sings the verses clean, before Van Giersbergen takes over - duelling with Holopainen's guitar leads for prominence. The two singers clash in the chorus, with Van Giersbergen providing the beauty to Joutsen's beast as clean and harsh vocals mix together perfectly. Amorphis have not made use of guest vocalists very often in the past, but Van Giersbergen really adds a lot to the song and proves to be the perfect foil to Joutsen. It is a very memorable song for this reason, but the melodies are still very powerful - with an uplifting guitar lead providing the main musical meat. The album's closing number Pyres on the Coast is a bit more of a slow-burner, with the band's progressive side again on display. There are clear nods to the band's more extreme metal roots, with sparse black metal-esque verses that see Joutsen laying down a higher-pitched harsh vocal performance than usual. This, mixed with a sparse musical backing, creates a cold sound - which is enhanced with some strange, echoey clean vocals that follow. The vast majority of the song features harsh vocals however, and the chorus is much more typical of Amorphis with deep, music growls punching through the epic wall-of-sound backing. Elsewhere stabs of pure symphonic metal with soaring strings provide uplifting melodies, and a powerful instrumental section sees solos from Holopainen and Kallio. It is a powerful closing track that rounds off the album in style, and showcases why Amorphis are such a vital force in metal today. Overall, Queen of Time is another excellent album from the Finnish metal band and one that shows that sees them adding a few new sounds into their already-established canon. Fans of the band are sure to love this offering, but this is also the type of album that you wish non-metal fans would listen to so that they could see how diverse and interesting metal music can be.

The album was released on 18th May 2018 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Wrong Direction.

Mostly Autumn - Tavistock Review

The gigging year is not completed without Mostly Autumn's almost-annual trip down the South West. While some years have taken in Penzance and/or Exeter as locations for their concerts, the band's usual destination is The Wharf in Tavistock. While somewhat off the beaten track, and small in size, The Wharf has a great reputation as a live music venue. The stage is a good size, the sound system produces a clear output, and the people of west Devon are known to make the effort when it comes to supporting live music. It is rare that a crowd at The Wharf for any show is less than decent, and Mostly Autumn's regular visits to the venue have gained them a strong fanbase in the area. It took the band quite a while to release the majority of their live dates this year, and I was starting to wonder whether their usual trip to the South West was even going to happen. These worries were unfounded however as the band confirmed their Tavistock visit a couple of months ago and luckily the show did not clash with anything else that I had already planned. The Wharf was the site of the first concert that I ever went too back in 2006, and it was Mostly Autumn up on the stage that day. As a result, the band's returns to The Wharf always feel somewhat like homecomings for me, and the shows are always one of the highlights of the year. Despite the relatively late announcement that this gig had, the show still attracted a decent-sized crowd. I have certainly seen the venue fuller for Mostly Autumn's shows there in the past, but there was still a strong contingent of the band's fans present - and was far from the worst turnout for a Mostly Autumn show at The Wharf (an award which I believe goes to their 2013 show). Despite a decent turnout, the crowd were fairly subdued during the early part of the evening, and only really got going during the latter half of the set. This was a bit of a shame, as it seemed like the band had to work harder than usual to elicit a reaction, but this did not seem to deter the band who put a show to equal their usual high standards.

Unusually for a Mostly Autumn show there was a support act, but with the support being made up of two members of the band it felt more of an extension of the main show that a true support slot. Chris Johnson (vocals/guitar) and Angela Gordon (flute/keyboards/whistle/vocals) took to the stage alone to play half an hour or so of folk covers for the growing crowd. The two play in various folk acts that perform in pubs in their native York, so this set was made up of material that the two play as a part of these other acts. The set was largely made up of covers, but Johnson also performed a stripped-back version of Gaze, a song he wrote for Mostly Autumn and can be found in a different guise on the delux edition of the Heart Full of Sky album. Johnson mostly took the lead vocally, with Gordon providing harmonies and flute melodies in fairly equal measure. With Mostly Autumn's current setlist not being particularly flute-heavy, it was great to see her laying into the instrument at times and peeling off excellent melodies. Gaze was the set's highlight, but a lovely version of Christy Moore's Ride On, which was Gordon take the lead, brought their little set to a close and proved to be a winner with the crowd.

With the band's latest album Sight of Day just a little over a year old, the band are still very much in the mindset to promote it. With this in mind, the band featured four of the new songs in the set while a good selection of older numbers made up the rest of the night. The new album's gargantuan title track got the evening started in style, and allowed to whole band to really pull together to turn in a special performance. Olivia Sparnenn-Josh (vocals/glockenspiel/percussion) showed her vocal diversity during the piece, with the subtle initial verses and the early choruses showing great changes of style early on. It is hard not to be taken in by her as a performer, and she consistently demonstrated why she is one of the best female rock vocalists currently active. Bandleader Bryan Josh (vocals/guitar) also had plenty of chances to show off, but it was the mellow, Pink Floyd-inspired mid-section where he really shone. His emotional guitar style is well-suited for this atmospheric songwriting, and his soloing never fails to impress. It would be hard for many bands to follow Sight of Day, but the all-out gothic rock of In for the Bite and the organic Simple Ways showed different sides of the band. The latter featured an excellent outro keyboard solo from Iain Jennings (keyboards), showing that Josh does not have a monopoly on instrumental prowess. Save for Simple Ways, the set was made up of songs that have been featured quite heavily by the band over the past year or so. While I felt that a couple of different older ones could have been featured, especially in place of songs such as Drops of the Sun which could definitely do with being rested for a while now, the set flowed very nicely which justified the band's choices in regards with what to play.

I doubt too many will ever complain about Evergreen's inclusion however, and it unsurprisingly brought a large cheer from the crowd as it came to an end. The ending is another showcase for Josh, and allowed new drummer Henry Rogers (although he actually filled in for the band's previous drummer at their Wharf show last year) to show off his skills with some high-energy antics. Other highlights were the folk/AOR mash-up of Nowhere to Hide (Close my Eyes), the first song on the band's debut album For All We Shared... which is 20 this year, and Johnson's spine-tingling Silver Glass which has really established itself as a setlist regular again over the past few years. Mother Nature is arguably the most complete Mostly Autumn song as it contains everything that makes the band great. Josh and Sparnenn-Josh sing the song together perfectly, before the song builds towards another explosive guitar solo for Josh to really sink his teeth into. It was met with possibly the biggest cheer of the night, and it seems the song is here again to stay after a fairly lengthy absence from the band's set between 2010 and 2016. Johnson's Changing Lives provided a more modern vibe, before Sparnenn-Josh's signature ballad Questioning Eyes took the roof off the place. The song is always powerful, but it seemed extra powerful this time with a stunning vocal display and Jennings' gorgeous piano lines. Tonight finished off the main set with cinematic aplomb, before the crowd demanded more with rhythmic clapping that soon brought the band back on. The ever-present Heroes Never Die and the new number Forever and Beyond brought the evening to a close, and as the band took their bows the crowd showed their appreciation. The band had put on another excellent display in Tavistock and had well-earned their applause. The setlist was:

Sight of Day
In for the Bite [Bryan Josh solo material]
Simple Ways
Evergreen
Tomorrow Dies
Drops of the Sun
Nowhere to Hide (Close my Eyes)
Silhouettes of Stolen Ghosts
Silver Glass
Mother Nature
Changing Lives
Questioning Eyes [Breathing Space cover]
Tonight
-
Heroes Never Die
Forever and Beyond

The evening's only disappointment was the fact that the moody Storms Over Still Water, which was listed on the stage's printed setlists as a part of the encore section, was not performed - presumably due to limited time. The song is excellent and I had not heard the band perform it live since 2010, but sadly it was not to be. Maybe next time! I have already got tickets to see the band again in December in Bilston, which will be my 40th Mostly Autumn concert. I am already looking forward to it!

Vega's 'Only Human' - Album Review

The UK has never really been seen a hotbed for AOR and melodic rock, Vega have been flying the Union Jack for the genres since forming back in 2009. While the band are still very much an underground entity, tours with bigger bands like Magnum have brought their music to a wider audience and Vega are well-liked on the British rock scene. Since being formed in 2009 by twins and songwriting duo Tom and James Martin, as well as frontman Nick Workman, Vega have released four well-received albums through the Italian label Frontiers Records, and added to their growing discography by releasing their fifth album Only Human last month. This follows hot on the heels of the well-received Who We Are (which I reviewed here) which was released almost-exactly two years to the day of Only Human's release date. Although I had been aware of Vega for sometime prior to Who We Are's release, that album was my real entry-point into the Vega catalogue. I knew that the band would be supporting Magnum on their 2016 tour, so made the effort to check out Vega's music in preparation for their support slot. I was glad that I did, as Vega put on a good show that night and since then I have become a bigger fan of the band and acquired the rest of their catalogue. Soundwise, Vega are a fairly typical melodic rock/AOR band so most of what can be heard on their albums will be familiar to fans of the genre. Those wanting something revolutionary should look elsewhere, but those who enjoy feel-good summery AOR will find plenty to enjoy here. The band's core songwriting team of the Martin brothers and Workman have established a particular brand of polished melodic rock during their years with Vega which has come to define the band's sound. The band are not one to write keyboard-driven anthems, akin to American greats like Survivor, but instead focus on a more polished, cinematic sound. James Martin's keyboards are more atmospheric than is found in many AOR bands, but this helps Vega to create a big sound that rarely falls into the trap of using tacky synth sounds. This leads the band's guitarsists, Marcus Thurston and new boy Mikey Kew, often to drive the songs - which helps the band to place more emphasis on the 'rock' element of their sound than many other AOR acts, despite a few nattier pieces that rely more on poppy walls-of-sound than true rock grit. This has not changed on Only Human, and the new album sees the band playing to their strengths. Kew's addition sees Tom Martin now focusing solely on the bass guitar, and new drummer Martin Hutchison helps to drive the album with a solid performance. The line-up changes and expansion has not altered the band's sound at all, and in fact Kew has been a long-time live member of the band so his inclusion into Vega as a permanent member is long overdue!

Let's Have Fun Tonight opens the album in style with a driving hard rock riff, backed up by some great 1970s-esque organ, that gives the song a slightly sleazy feel. The verses are fairly bluesy, with the band's two guitarists locked into a groove-based pattern, but the chorus opens up with Workman's powerful delivery. Wordless backing vocals and tight harmonies give the chorus some bite, and when Thurston launches into his dirty, shredded guitar solo the pieces seem to all fall into place. Vega are rarely his weighty, and the hard rock stomp of the piece allows the album to make an instant impact, without straying too far from the band's core sound. Worth Dying For is the band's more typical fare, with an ascending guitar riff and a dense synth backing recalling the AOR bands of the 1980s while Workman croons his way through the verses. Many of the songs found throughout Only Human are not as instantly memorable as those on the band's earlier albums, but this one boasts a powerful chorus that is filled with Vega's trademark melodies. Workman does not have the most distinctive of voices, but he is a powerful singer and shows off his impressive pipes during the chorus here - which features playful vocal melodies and the cinematic ascending guitar riff from the intro. This vibe is continued throughout lead single Last Man Standing, although the faux radio DJ voice over section does feel a little out of place! Songs like this showcase the band's love of Def Leppard, with chiming clean guitar melodies making up the verses, while stabs of retro synths add the American AOR influence. This is easily my favourite song on the album, as it is packed with fantastic melodies that just jump out at you instantly and stick with you from the off. The chorus is one of the band's best yet, with James Martin adding a tasty synth melody atop Thurston and Kew's tough, anthemic riffing. Workman does the heavy lifting however, and delivers some of the album's best melodies as he belts out the chorus lyrics. It is a real stadium-filling moment, and the song is sure to become a highlight of the band's live shows. After three rockers, Come Back Again strips things back a little with a somewhat more atmospheric sound and a verse section that could be described as having a country influence. The guitars mostly provide atmospheric sound here, using big chords rather than traditional riffs, while Hutchison's drumming provides more of a percussive backing than a tight beat. As a result, the song feels a little strange and never truly seems to get going. That being said, it is far from horrid and does provide a nice change of pace after the more upbeat opening trio of songs.

All Over Now returns more to the vibe established during the album's opening moments with James Martin's keyboards dominating with a chiming melody during the song's intro, and the two guitarists providing a suitable chug during the verses. Another excellent chorus is housed within the song, and it features some of the most Survivor-esque keyboards the band have ever used. The sound is quite dated, but it works well within the context of the song and allows Workman to deliver the chorus in an anthemic way. This is my second favourite song on the album, and it is telling that my two favourite pieces here have excellent choruses. Vega really know how to write a good chorus - but they seem to have less of them in their arsenal than some of their peers. Mess You Made opens well, with a snaking guitar lead, and continues positively throughout. Tom Martin's bass dominates the verse, which helps to create a low pulsing sound, with his brother's keyboards adding atmosphere. Despite this the song actually feels a little heavier overall than much of the material found on this album, which is probably down to Hutchison's drumming. His drums are particularly punchy throughout this song, and they really help to drive the song with a tight rhythm that makes occasional use of double bass drumming for effect. The album's title track follows, and immediately takes on more of  a poppy vibe with a bouncy guitar lead and a big wall of keyboards. There is a little of the sounds of bands like U2 here, with the keyboards creating a big wall of sound for Workman to earnestly sing against with the rest of the band largely providing a rhythm. The chorus in particular sounds like something U2, or modern day Bon Jovi, might have come up with. It sounds somewhat pedestrian, but still manages to catch the attention with some decent melodies. AOR is a poppy genre by default, but this song feels more like a pure piece of pop rock than anything else. I would have liked to see a bit more grit here, as at times it feels like the guitarists are a bit surplus to requirements! Standing Still is the album's first real ballad, with James Martin laying down a sombre piano melody throughout the piece and slow guitar leads from Thurston cutting throughout occasionally for an emotional punch. The choruses pick up the pace a little however, moving away from true ballad territory and into something more alike the pop rock of the previous song. The U2 wall-of-sound production is back, and in fact the two choruses sound remarkably similar. I feel that vibe works better for this song however, as the slower nature of the verses makes the lack of obvious guitar riffs more appropriate. On the whole however this sort of sound does not do a whole lot for me, with the anthemic Last Man Standing acting as a blueprint for a great Vega chorus.

Gravity is more upbeat, with some machine drumming to get the song going before a keyboard-heavy riff takes the band back to their 1980s-esque sound. The guitarists lay down a snaking riff during the verses while Tom Martin's bass rumbles away, giving the song much more grit than either of the previous two efforts. The chorus is somewhat of a let down given the excellent build up, but at least it feels like more of a rock moment! For whatever reason the vocals here just sound a little weak and lack the power that Workman is known for. It seems like the band have tried to experiment with some layering techniques, mixing high-pitched harmonies in for effect, but accidentally put the higher vocals too high in the mix. It just comes off sounding a little strange, but overall the song still impresses with plenty of subtle melodies that reveal themselves more and more with each listen. Turning Pages is another slower one, with chiming guitar melodies making up the verses and a summery keyboard backing creating a good atmosphere. Hutchison's drumming takes on that percussive feel that he used elsewhere to good effect, and he only really breaks into a true beat during the choruses. The choruses here feel like slightly bigger versions of the verses, with similar guitar melodies chiming through while Workman sounds more like his usual self with a strong vocal performance. Fade Away is the first anthemic rocker since the early portion of the album, and the strident guitar riff is a welcome sound. The muscular power chords pile out of the speakers, and they are soon accompanied by Workman who dominates the verses with his excellent vocals. After a plethora of poppy, wall-of-sound choruses during the album's second half, the effort here is much more AOR-centric with a twinkling keyboard melody and plenty of harmony vocals to make everything sound just that bit bigger. Go to War is the album's closing number, and it sees the band attempting something slightly ballsier with wah-drenched guitar leads and a somewhat more aggressive drum showing. Of course 'heavier' is a relative term, but there is some bite here and it sounds a little like something Bon Jovi might have written for their first couple of albums. The only criticism I have of the song is that it does not really feel like a closing piece. Album closers should be statement pieces, and this one does not have that spark to close out the album in a truly memorable fashion. It might have been better to swap this track and Fade Away around, as the album would then close with the latter's chorus spinning around your head! Overall, Only Human is an enjoyable album from Vega but one that is not without its faults. I personally prefer the band's more overtly-rock efforts, with some of the poppier songs passing me by somewhat. Melodic rock fans in general ought to find plenty to enjoy here however, and Vega are worth checking out for those who want a bit of a modern AOR fix.

The album was released on 11th May 2018 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Worth Dying For.

Stone Free Festival 2018 (Saturday)

After not getting to a single festival last year, by the time this year comes to a close I will have attended three. Steelhouse and Bloodstock are coming up over the next couple of months, but up first was Stone Free - held in London's prestigious O2 Arena. The festival has been running for a handful of years now, but this was the first time I had opted to go - primarily because the legendary German heavy metal act the Scorpions were headlining the Saturday night, ably assisted by the American thrash titans Megadeth. The festival runs over two days, with one of the versions of Yes and Roger Hodgson topping Sunday's bill, but due to financial reasons and work commitments I opted just to buy a day ticket for the Saturday. The central London location means that hotels must also be factored into the equation, which could make the full weekend quite expensive. I decided that Sunday's bill did not warrant the extra expense, feeling confident that what the Saturday had to offer would be more than enough. Despite the event taking place at the O2 Arena, it was only the evening event that actually took place in the main venue. The festival was spread over the entire O2 complex with bands playing in the smaller IndigO2 throughout the day, as well as on an even smaller stage outside the building's doors. The O2's foyer was taken over by a record and CD fair for most of the day too, which helped to provide some downtime between catching the plethora of bands that were playing. The complex is full of restaurants and bars too, meaning that one never had to venture far for anything during the day. I arrived at the O2 not long before the first band started their set, and spent the first hour or so exploring the record fair and catching a bit of Nitroville - the first band on the Orange Amps Stage outside. Trawling through the numerous boxes of vinyl proved rewarding, as I came away with five new LPs and a couple of CDs. Included in my hall was a cheap vinyl copy of Deep Purple's Come Taste the Band and the debut album from NWOBHM also-rans Rock Goddess who impressed earlier in the year when I saw them supporting Saxon in Cardiff. Nitroville's fairly generic hard rock, that had little in the way of meaningful hooks or melodies, did little to distract me from my record hunting - but I had earmarked the next band up on the Orange Amps Stage as ones to check out, so when Nitroville finished I headed outside and took up my spot for...

KilliT:

Bands on the Orange Amps Stage only had half an hour to play with, and the London-based hard rocker KilliT made their time count with a powerful set of riff-heavy material. Mixing the modern rock swagger of bands like Velvet Revolver with a bit of 1990s dirt, the five-piece entertained the decent-sized crowd with a set of original material. Frontman Gaz Twist, who does not look like your average rock frontman with his fairly reserved appearance, led the band through their paces and showcased his powerful voice. He was a little buried in the mix during the early parts of the set, but as things moved on he stood out more and proved to be a very likeable character. Most of the heavy lifting music wise was done by Niro Knox (guitar/vocals) who handled the bulk of the guitar solos. His bluesy shredding style reminded me a little of ex-Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich, and often stole the spotlight from the rest of the band with his solos - although an extended instrumental section prior to the set's final song proved that rhythm guitarist Claire Genoud is no slouch either! While not all of the band's songs were as catchy as they could be, I enjoyed the band's half an hour on stage. I shall endeavour to check out the band's debut album Shut it Down at some point.

By this point lunch was calling, so I headed back into the main complex in search of some food. Sadly all of the food outlets were pretty expensive, but Nando's provided a relatively cheap option. I had only been to the O2 Arena in its current guise once previously, for Nine Inch Nails in 2009, and I had forgotten just how big it was! Inside the dome is almost a small town, with a large amount of chain restaurants and a large cinema. In fact, as part of the Stone Free itinerary, I could have watched Wayne's World if I had waned to, but with so much music on offer it seemed silly to watch a film I had seen many times previously over the years. After my Nando's, it was almost time for the next band I had earmarked as potentially interesting back outside at the Orange Amps Stage, so I headed back outside and stayed there until the stage finished for the day...

Dirty Thrills:

I had heard Dirty Thrill's referred to as a bit of a poor man's Rival Sons, but I went to their 30 minute set open minded and ready to be impressed. While their brand of fairly generic blues rock is nothing original, there was something about the band's performance that really impressed from the off, and I was genuinely disappointed when everything came to an end. Bands like this rarely manage to create a strong energy with their music, but Dirty Thrills came racing out of the blocks, and threw down riff after riff that hit home. Louis James (vocals/harmonica) was a great frontman and vocalist, often throwing in some high-pitched falsetto to great effect, but the star of the show was undoubtedly Jack Fawdry (guitar/vocals). I have never seen a bluesman so animated on stage, and he continually attacked his guitar with vigour throughout the set, all while throwing some pretty impressive shapes. All of this posturing would be for nothing if the songs were not up to scratch but the band, who are part of the Frontiers Records family, delivered on that front too! The riffs, while all of a similar fuzzy style, were powerful and the songs were all built around choruses which were perfect for James' vocal theatrics. The set was mostly made up of the band's original material, although a cover of Jimi Hendrix's Foxy Lady was thrown in to give the crowd something they knew. The attendance at the Orange Amps Stage was pretty good throughout the day, and the turnout for Dirty Thrills' set was no different. The band seriously impressed, and I will definitely be checking out their album Heavy Living when I get the chance.

Daxx & Roxane:

Up next were Switzerland's Daxx & Roxane, who were not a duo as their name suggests but a raw, old fashioned rock band. Despite the promise of their Facebook bio, the band failed to impress and I found their music to be mostly quite dull. There were quite a few Daxx & Roxane t-shirts in the crowd, suggesting they have themselves a bit of a following, but I will not be adding myself to it. Having to follow Dirty Thrills' explosive set cannot have helped things, but I found the band's material to be unmemorable and extremely generic. None of their riffs really stuck in the mind, and although Cédric Pfister (vocals/bass guitar) had a strong voice I did not find any of the vocal melodies memorable. The band only had half an hour on stage like all the others, but their set was the only one of the four on the Orange Amps Stage that I watched properly that really dragged. I have to say I was pleased when Daxx & Roxane's set ended, although I was certainly in a minority as there were some in the crowd calling for more. It was good that the band managed to elicit a positive reaction from so many, but they did very little for me.

Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics:

The Orange Amps Stage headliners were my first hotly-anticipated band of the day, and a band I had wanted to see since first hearing their debut album when it was released last year. I have been following frontman Aaron Buchanan since he joined one of my favourite new rock bands of all-time, Heaven's Basement, back in 2011 and in fact I saw his first show with the band in Leicester that year. Sadly Heaven's Basement are no more, but Aaron Buchanan came roaring back with his debut solo album last year and assembled a great band to tour it. Despite again having only half an hour, the band made it count with a powerful seven song set, that contained four songs from the album The Man With the Stars on His Knees and three old Heaven's Basement tunes. Left Me for Dead from the new album got the party started, with the slightly grungy feel of the song giving the set a heavy start. The crowd for this set was vocal throughout, and there seemed to be quite a few existing fans alongside me down at the front. Tom McCarthy (guitar/vocals) then hit the main riff for the old Heaven's Basement track Fire, Fire and that kicked the set into the next gear. The song has a simple chorus to get behind, and many of the crowd shouted it back at the band who seemed to feed of the energy. Despite the small stage, the band played like they were headlining an arena. The Devil That Needs You allowed the grungy vibe to surface again, and gave Laurie Buchanan (guitar/vocals) a chance to take the lead and display some excellent guitar work. McCarthy seemed to take most of the solos, but Laurie Buchanan showcased her talents too. Dancin' Down Below was probably the highlight of the set for me. The new track would have fitted in easily with a second Heaven's Basement album had it happened. There is so much energy in the piece, and has a chorus to match that saw Aaron Buchanan displaying that theatrical voice perfectly. Heartbreaking Son of a Bitch saw Aaron Buchanan handstanding atop the crowd, the latest trick in his long-running line of similar things, before the set came to an abrupt close with Morals? from the band's debut album. It is a shame that, as stage headliners, their set could not have been longer - but I shall be seeing the band twice more this year so I shall look forward to those occasions immensely. The setlist was:

Left Me for Dead
Fire, Fire [Heaven's Basement material]
The Devil That Needs You
I Am Electric [Heaven's Basement material]
Dancin' Down Below
Heartbreaking Son of a Bitch [Heaven's Basement material]
Morals?

Aaron Buchanan's set brought the action on the Orange Amps Stage to a close. With the doors to the main O2 Arena bowl opening shortly, I made the trek around the inside of the dome to the door I was required to enter by. As I walked past the IndigO2, I could hear the heavy rock 'n' roll of Orange Goblin pouring out of the doors. I did not enter the IndiogO2 at any point during the day, choosing instead to focus on the Orange Amps Stage. I would have liked to see Orange Goblin, as I had enjoyed their at Bloodstock a few years ago, but by the time Aaron Buchanan's set finished they were already well into their set. I opted just to head into the arena bowl and get seated for the three main bands still to come. While there were plenty of people in attendance throughout the day, and the arena bowl was pretty full during Megadeth and the Scorpions' sets, it is certainly fair to say that more tickets could have been sold. Many of us up in the higher tiers of the stadium were offered new seats slightly closer, which shows that there were plenty empty seats around. My seats had a better view than my original ones, which was great, and I got to watch the venue slowly fill up throughout the evening. Up first was...

Buckcherry:
The Los Angeles-based sleaze rockers Buckcherry had the daunting task of opening proceedings, with much of their set mostly performed to an almost-empty hall as the crowd filed in at a snail's pace. I saw Buckcherry a couple of years ago supporting Steel Panther in Cardiff, where I was pretty underwhelmed by their performance, but this time they were much better. The band's dirty, bluesy, sleazy rock is naturally very sloppy, but it works well with Stevie D. (guitar/vocals) and new boy Kevin Roentgen (guitar/vocals) locking together well with loose riffs and solos. Frontman, and sole original member, Josh Todd is a strange frontman. He often moves around the stage fairly moodily in a style that often clashes with his crass lyrics - but it works well, and his vocals were much better this time around. The band's short set focused mainly on the band's first three albums, with Ridin' and Slamin' making their impact early and managed to elicit a response from the small crowd. Another highlight of the set was the cocaine-influenced Lit Up, which was probably the best number Buckcherry aired. The chorus rang around the the hall, and showed what a powerful band Buckcherry can be despite the fact their star has fallen over the past few years. A couple more tracks followed, but everything came to a close with Crazy Bitch, probably the band's best known song, which definitely received a strong reception from the crowd. Despite a poor turnout for the evening's opening band, Buckcherry still managed to put on a good show, and helped to warm the crowd up for what was to come. The setlist was:

Ridin'
Broken Glass
Slamin'
Lit Up
Say Fuck It [Icona Pop cover]
Sorry
Gluttony
Crazy Bitch

Megadeth:
Megadeth were the evening's special guests, and by the time they hit the stage the arena bowl was pretty full. Megadeth are a big hit and miss live, and during the run up to their set I was wondering if the sloppy version of the band, or the powerful one would turn up. Thankfully it was the latter and the melodic thrash classic Hangar 18 got the set off to a great start, with Dave Mustaine (vocals/guitar) and Kiko Loureiro (guitar/vocals) nailing the snaking opening riff. Mustaine's live vocals can be a bit ropey, but throughout Megadeth's 75 minute set he sounded something close to his snarling best. A good mix of material was played, with newer numbers like the fast The Threat is Real mixing in well with crunchier tracks like In My Darkest Hour. I had seen the band a couple of times previously, and the band included quite a few songs tonight that I had not heard them play live before. The highlight of these was the old classic The Conjuring which has been returned to the band's set after a two-decade absence. The progressive thrash riffing brought a good response from the crowd, and there were even a few circle pits around. Being the heaviest band on the bill certainly had a bit of an effect on the crowd's reactions throughout Megadeth's set however. There were clearly clusters of die-hard fans down at the front, but there were obviously more than a few who were fairly ambivalent to what was going on up on the stage. This clearly annoyed Mustaine at times, but he did not let it affect the band's performance who were totally on point throughout. Highlights for me were the guitar workout Tornado of Souls, which featured a lengthy and stunning solo from birthday boy Loureiro, and Dystopia - the mid-paced title track from the band's most recent album. Classics were wheeled out towards the end of the set with the band going right back to their 1985 debut for Mechanix. This fast number allowed new drummer Dirk Verbeuren to really demonstrate his skills - which in fairness he did all night. Their Belgian has just the right balance of technical precision and raw power to propel Megadeth's material, and he turned in the best drumming performance of the three Megadeth shows I have now seen. Peace Sells, led by David Ellefson's (bass guitar/vocals) stabbing bassline, brought the main set to a close, before the band came back out for a rousing final song - the powerful Holy Wars...The Punishment Due. This song always closes the band's sets, and it brought a large cheer from the crowd as the band closed the song out and took their bows. While Megadeth probably were not everyone's cup of tea on this bill, they turned in a stunning performance and probably turned a few classic rock fans' heads! The setlist was:

Hangar 18
The Threat is Real
Rattlehead
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
The Conjuring
Sweating Bullets
Take No Prisoners
Tornado of Souls
Dystopia
Symphony of Destruction
Mechanix
Peace Sells
-
Holy Wars...The Punishment Due

Scorpions:
Despite looking forward to many of the band's on the bill, it was the German rockers the Scorpions that persuaded me to buy the ticket in the first place. The band have neglected the UK for quite some time, sadly, and I had been wanting to see them live for many years. Despite the wait, I was not disappointed as the band hit the stage at around 9:15pm and did not stop until the 11pm curfew, save for the short encore break. As expected, the band focused mainly on their 1980s heyday - with many of the songs played being true classics - but there were a few older and newer numbers throw in too. One of the new songs, Going Out with a Bang from 2015's Return to Forever, opened the show with a shuffling power, before Make It Real, complete with Matthias Jabs' (guitar/vocals) soaring guitar leads, that set the evening alight. The classics constantly flowed, and the band's 70 year old frontman Klaus Meine sung them just as well as he did in the 1980s. The man has not aged a bit, and his unique, accented, voice filled the arena and was often joined by the voices of many thousand fans. The crushing mid-paced The Zoo was an early highlight, with Jabs' lengthy talk box solo, and the instrumental Coast to Coast provided an early chance for founding member Rudolf Schenker (guitar/vocals) to solo. A medley of their 1970s output, including the powerful Steamrock Fever and the anthemic Catch Your Train, sifting out the die-hard from the more casual fans. The band's 1970s work has often been ignored by the band in recent years, so it was great to see a few of those songs resurrected in the form of a medley. I am not sure that two lengthy instrumentals were required, with Jabs' Delicate Dance following not too long from Coast to Coast, but I suppose Meine probably appreciated the breaks at his age. Another medley, this time of acoustic ballads, followed which culminated in a stunning version of Send Me an Angel that had everyone in the crowd singing along while the mirrorball threw lights around the arena. The mega-ballad Wind of Change followed, which was probably the best song of the entire day. The song is so famous for a reason, and hearing the crowd singing along with Meine was something special indeed. Schenker's emotional solo was perfect too, and was the icing on the cake. The rest of the set was made up of real classics, including a short but powerful version of Motörhead's Overkill which was a tribute to the late Lemmy. This led into a lengthy drum solo from new drummer Mikkey Dee, who showcased why he has often been called one of the best heavy metal drummers during his already-long career. Blackout and Big City Nights followed and brought the main set to a close. The cheer that erupted from the crowd was huge, and it was not too long before the band were back out for a couple more. The power ballad Still Loving You went down a storm, before Jabs' laid into the main riff of Rock You Like a Hurricane. It was another highlight of the whole day, with the crowd again singing loudly, which brought the evening to a powerful close. The setlist was:

Going Out with a Bang
Make it Real
Is There Anybody There?
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Top of the Bill/Steamrock Fever/Speedy's Coming/Catch Your Train
We Built This House
Delicate Dance [w/ Ingo Powitzer]
Follow Your Heart/Eye of the Storm/Send Me an Angel
Wind of Change
Tease Me Please Me
Overkill [Motörhead cover]
Drum solo
Blackout
Big City Nights
-
Still Loving You
Rock You Like a Hurricane

The Scorpions were easily the band of the day for me, but Megadeth and Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics also put on excellent shows that made the trip up to London from Devon worth it. It was great to finally see the Scorpions after having wanted to for many years, and they certainly did not disappoint with an arena-moving performance. My overall experience of Stone Free Festival was a positive one, and I will definitely be up for making the effort again next year if the line-up appeals.

Praying Mantis' 'Gravity' - Album Review

Despite initially making a name for themselves as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement in the early 1980s, Praying Mantis sadly never truly got the recognition that they deserved. There are probably many reasons for this, one of which almost-certainly being the huge over-saturation of the market when it came to heavier bands at the time, but the reality is that Praying Mantis came and went in the early 1980s - along with many of their peers. Despite carrying the 'metal' tag around with them, due to their association with the NWOBHM movement, Praying Mantis were never a true metal band. Listening back to 1980s seminal NWOBHM compilation, Praying Mantis' single Captured City sticks out like a sore thumb. The offerings from Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, and Samson found on that LP are packed with brooding riffs and punky attitude, while Captured City oozes with smooth melodies and crisp guitar harmonies - having more in common with hard rock legends like Thin Lizzy than Black Sabbath or Judas Priest. The band's debut album, 1981's Time Tells No Lies, was a minor hit; but it was to be all that anyone heard from Praying Mantis for a decade. Guitarist Tino Troy and bassist Chris Troy, brothers and the band's founding members, reactivated Praying Mantis in 1990 for a tour of Japan, and there has been a version of the band active ever since. Members have come and gone, and numerous albums have been released, but the Troy brothers have been keeping their brand of melodic, AOR-influenced metal alive. While many of the band's albums are quite hard to find these days, as they were released primarily for the Japanese market, this changed around a decade ago when the band joined forces with Italian rock label Frontiers Records for 2009's Sanctuary - a well-received album that reminded many European rock and metal fans that Praying Mantis still existed. That was followed up in 2015 by Legacy (which I reviewed here), a real melodic feast of an album that contains some of my favourite Praying Mantis songs to date. It was also the band's first album with the current line-up, which saw the Troy brothers joined by guitarist Andy Burgess (who has been a part of the band for around a decade now), along newcomers John Cuijpers and drummer Hans in 't Zandt (who sing and play the drums respectively). Keeping the same five together who wrote and recorded Legacy was key for the band, and thankfully all five have returned for Gravity, which sounds like the natural continuation of the previous album. The band's trademark melodic sound is still present here, and there seems to be a bigger dose of AOR here than usual with keyboards taking on a more prominent role than usual. There is still plenty of bite however, thanks to Tino Troy and Burgess' riffs and dual guitar leads, but the strong melodies are likely to appeal more to a melodic rock aficionado than your average metalhead.

Opening the album is the single Keep it Alive, a melodic track that slowly builds up with some spacey harmony vocals, before a Thin Lizzy-esque main riff kicks in atop Zandt's groove-filled drumming. Cuijpers is easily the best permanent vocalist the band have (discounting singer like Doogie White and John Sloman who have contributed to Praying Mantis albums over the years) and he demonstrates this immediately with a gritty verse delivery. Praying Mantis have often suffered from having sub-par vocalists, but in Cuijpers they have found the man with the pipes to suit their bombastic sound. The tough verses and the soaring choruses here, with plenty of smooth harmony vocals from the band, shows what Praying Mantis have been missing all these years - but it seems Cuijpers is in for the long haul now. Mantis Anthem follows and lowers the pace somewhat, opening with a cheesy synth melody that sounds like it would have been the theme tune for a 1980s sci-fi TV show. While not a ballad the song moves along at a fairly slow pace, allowing the booming drums and bass to create a strong groove while the keyboards provide much of the song's musical meat. The keyboards throughout the album are handled by the Troy bothers and Burgess and sometimes, like during parts of this song, almost replace the guitars entirely. The song toughens up for the chorus, which is certainly attempting something of an anthemic sound (unsurprising given the song's title). Subtle gang vocals are mixed into the chorus, which certainly helps it to hit home, but I feel this chorus does not have quite the effect that it is intended to do. It is a little slow to be a true 'fists in the air' moment, but the melody still manages to find its way into your brain. While many of Praying Mantis' songs are written by the Troy brothers, either together or individually, Time Can Heal was put together by Cuijpers and Burgess. There is a real 1980s AOR vibe here, with a subtle, chugging guitar rhythm throughout and sparkly keyboards that create a sugary atmosphere. Being a big AOR fan, this song really appeals to me and showcases the band's current line-up playing to their strength. While it is probably fair to say that Cuijpers is more at home singing the band's heavier material, his voice is still suited to singing these poppier offerings. The song also shows how well-produced this album is, as all of the elements clearly stand out. Chris Troy's bass cuts through the mix when required, and the keyboards add another layer without drowning out the guitar rhythms. Tino Troy and Burgess were responsible for producing the album, so they should be congratulated on their efforts to make such a well-rounded sound for Gravity. 39 Years, despite a juddering synth intro, is a bit more of a rocker, with strong guitar rhythms and a snaking bassline that really dominates the verses and provides a countermelody to Cuijpers' vocals. The chorus is a strong, and has more than a hint of John Payne-era Asia about it, with Cuijpers' rich vocals really standing out. There are a lot of harmony guitars here too, a cornerstone of Praying Mantis' sound, which sound as good now as they did in the early 1980s.

The album's title track also has a tougher sound, with Chris Troy's bass intro setting the tone before some big harmony guitar melodies kick in. Despite the big production that dominates much of the album, this song feels more stripped-back on the whole. The verses are mostly free of any fuss, with the bass and drums providing a rock solid backing for the vocals. The chorus is a fairly slow one, but one that really grows over time. This was the first song from the album that was made available online prior to the album's release, and on first listen I was not impressed at all. I have had many subsequent listens to the song since however, and it has grown on me since. The guitar solo section stands out too, and features lots of excellent melodies from the band's two guitarists. Tino Troy or Burgess rarely rely on speed for their solos, but instead pack plenty of melody in their playing which often makes the band's instrumental sections stand out. Ghosts of the Past is a song put together by Burgess and some of the band's former members, and it has a bit of a darker feel throughout - despite opening with a melodic piano line. The keyboards here give the song a slightly symphonic quality, often backing up the Deep Purple-esque guitar arpeggios for a snaking, slightly gothic feel. Cuijpers channels his inner Dio here, and shows a slightly rougher side of his voice, which is perfectly suited to the vibe created throughout the song. The darker feel does make Ghosts of the Past stand out somewhat, especially when much of the rest of the album is fairly upbeat, but it provides an interesting change of mood which helps the album to remain interesting. Destiny in Motion opens with an aching guitar melody, and it seems as if the song will be the album's first ballad. This is not the case however, as the song slowly builds up during the dense verses to explode into a bouncy, upbeat chorus that is possibly one of the album's best. The mix of the slower verses with the anthemic choruses is a classic AOR trope, but it still works well despite being done to death over the years. It also features a dramatic guitar solo section, which opens with some bombastic rhythmic blasts before the emotionally-charged solo starts. Sadly the album's booklet does not credit each individual solo, so I am not sure whether Tino Troy or Burgess were responsible for this particular offering, but either way it proves to be a winner. The Last Summer is another slower offering, with an acoustic guitar providing the main body of the verse, with the band's classic guitar harmonies surfacing during the intro, and occasionally elsewhere, to add a touch of class when required. While not a true ballad, the song feels like one at times, and it is good to see the band lowering the pace here and allowing the acoustic guitar to be so prominent. It is present throughout, including throughout the chorus which builds upon the song's simplicity to create a melodic passage of gorgeous harmony vocals.

Foreign Affair is a very keyboard-heavy piece, and is dominated by a synth riff that the song is then built around. Sadly however, the riff is extremely similar to Foreigner's Waiting for a Girl Like You which does end up distracting me while listening to it as all I can hear is Foreigner! This aside however, the song is enjoyable and seems to be the only real ballad of the album. Chiming clean guitars and rhythmic bass make up the rest of the song, and Cuijpers lays down an emotional vocal performance which is akin to many of the mega hits of the 1980s. It does feel a bit like a pastiche of the soaring power ballads of the 1980s however, relying too heavily on the tropes of the genre and a riff that sounds far too similar to something else to establish its own identity. Shadow of Love is a real winner however, and easily my favourite song on the album. It is the only song on the album that is credited to all five band members, showing that more collaboration between the five might be fruitful going forward. The 1980s AIR vibe is still extremely strong here, but this time taking the form of a more upbeat rocker with plenty of synth backing alongside tougher riffs. If this song was released back in 1986 it would have been a huge hit, but sadly that is not the case today. AOR fans like me will lap it up however, and will drawn in by the epic chorus - which is dripping with layers of harmony vocals and sure to prove to be real winner live. Electric piano melodies help to add to the verses, and the toughening up of the guitars as it moves towards the chorus only makes the melodies hit harder when they arrive. The soaring guitar solo really befits the piece, and is the icing on the cake on what is already a really great song. I would love to see the band putting out more songs like this one in the future, and I feel it really brings out the best of the five Praying Mantis members. Final Destination is the album's closing number, and it takes on a heavier feel than most of the rest of the album - more akin to Ghosts of the Past than anything else here. The synths again take on more of a symphonic feel, with the guitar riffs and melodies certainly more metallic than anything else on the album. Zandt even throws in some occasional bursts of double bass drumming which helps to add extra bite and punch to the piece, without ever going overboard and turning the song into a power metal anthem. Despite being quite different to much of the rest of the album, Final Destination works well as a closing number, as the relative urgency in the riffing and drumming builds towards a crescendo which helps to end the album on a high. Overall, Gravity is another really strong album from Praying Mantis and one that adds some more highly-polished melodic rock to their discography. Long-time fans of the band are sure to really enjoy this offering, and any AOR fans who are not already versed with Praying Mantis' work should pick this up for an exciting discovery.

The album was released on 11th May 2018 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Keep it Alive.

Lords of Black's 'Icons of the New Days' - Album Review

Despite containing the current Rainbow frontman among their ranks, the Spanish progressive metal band Lords of Black are still relatively unknown. Having Ronnie Romero as their singer, who occasionally now also treads the boards with the legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore when the latter decides he fancies picking up his Strat again for a few nostalgia-laced Rainbow shows, certainly helped Lords of Black to gain some fans back in 2015 when it was announced that Rainbow was being revived with a new line-up; but it seems Lords of Black have not really been able to convert this association into any meaningful momentum. Fairly minimal touring certainly will not have helped, but I feel that the main issue with Lords of Black is, fundamentally, their songs. The band's core three members - Romero, guitarist and songwriter Tony Hernando, and drummer Andy C. - are all excellent musicians, but there are so many bands that do this brand of metal much better. As an example I recently picked up an album called Distant is the Sun by the Australian band Vanishing Point on the recommendation of a friend, and found my current solitary to it to be much more memorable than anything Lords of Black have released so far. I could name other bands here too, but that would just be labouring the point - which is, sadly, that Lords of Black are just not that memorable. That is not to say that they are a bad band however, because they are not. Both the band's 2014 self-titled debut album and 2016's II (which I reviewed here) had their moments and contained some good songs. The former in particular is a pretty strong effort, and is certainly worth the time of any self-respecting prog/power metal fan. Two years on from II and Lords of Black have attempted to up their game with the lengthy Icons of the New Days, their second album to be released by the Italian label Frontiers Records. Frontiers' interest in Lords of Black is clearly based around Romero's voice, and fame as Rainbow's current frontman, as he seems to be their go-to singer for their project bands that occupy the heavier end of the melodic rock/metal spectrum (The Ferrymen, CoreLeoni, Nozomu Wakai's Destina, etc.). The irony in this however is that Romero seems to have little to do with Lords of Black's direction. It seems to be Hernando's band as he is credited with writing almost the entirety of Icons of the New Days single handedly; as well as playing all of the guitars, bass guitars, and the majority of the keyboards. Hernando is certainly the album's star, with plenty of excellent guitar solos throughout, while Romero's vocal performance is much less refined than anything he has done with Rainbow. Despite its length Icons of the New Days is similar to Lords of Black's previous two albums, but nothing is gained from the extra run time. In fact, the bloated nature of this album actually ends up hurting it as it is almost certainly about 20 minutes too long. There are good songs here, but they are often so buried by filler that it can be hard to see the wood for the trees.

Despite this however, the album opens up in a fairly strong fashion with three powerful tracks in a row. World Gone Mad is the first, and it boasts a memorable riff that has hypnotic, Michael Schenker-esque, qualities despite the piece's overall heaviness. The heavier intro gives way to a chugging verse that sees Romero laying down a powerful vocal performance over a simple musical backing - something which continues into the song's melodic chorus. A simple keyboard backing helps the song to create a strong atmosphere, but musically it is always Hernando's guitar that dominates despite sometimes simply providing a bed for the vocals. He gets to shine part-way through the piece however with a great neo-classical guitar solo that builds up slowly over some marching drums to climax in a flurry of arpeggios that rivals the great Yngwie Malmsteen's signature style. The album's title track follows and it is the first of two songs co-written by drummer Andy C., who's writing style seems to always be focused around create a strong atmosphere. As a result, the keyboards take on a slightly more prominent role, with a silky synth riff sitting behind the chugging. industrial guitar rhythms that drive everything. The verses here have a very staccato feel to them, with Romero's vocals taking on a deeper, semi-whispered tone which works well. The chorus, while not exactly the world-beater, is still powerful and sees Romero pushing his voice a little to contrast with the more reserved verse delivery. The thing that makes this song as effective as it is however is the atmosphere it creates, which is down to Andy C.'s synth arrangements (he is responsible for the keyboards on the songs he co-wrote) and the suitably spacey guitar solo that comes out of nowhere towards the end. Andy C.'s second and final composition, In a Place Like This, follows and continues the atmospheric feel of the previous piece with trippy electronics and a dense wall of guitars. An aggressive synth riff fills the verses, which forms the perfect backing for Romero's gritty vocal display. Romero really shines throughout this song, and shows why Ritchie Blackmore chose him to front a reformed version of Rainbow. The slightly more melodic chorus, with soaring pianos mixed into the crushing guitar rhythms, shows Romero channelling his inner Ronnie James Dio to great, dramatic effect. Sadly however, the album rarely reaches the height of these opening three songs again. When a Hero Takes a Fall is a solid enough piece though, and ups the pace compared to anything heard on the album so far. Andy C.'s powerful drumming drives the piece, and an overwrought vocal performance helps to add some drama. The chorus here is pretty good, and shows the band can still operate at higher tempos. While not as good as the previous three songs, it is still an enjoyable piece of metal that creates a strong energy but lacks the atmospherics that were used so effectively previously.

Forevermore is another passable piece, with a bouncy opening melodies complete with driving synths, and a slightly spooky verse with some choppy double bass drumming and chiming clean guitars mixed into the background behind the tougher rhythms to help create an atmosphere. My main issue with the song however is the lack of a decent chorus. The song seems to build up towards one, but it never really materialises which is a shame. What passes as a chorus is overlong and without the anthemic melodies that it needs, which makes the song feel like one long piece without any sense of structure. That said however, there is a really good guitar solo from Hernando that shows him to be an extremely competent player. The Way I'll Remember is better however, and shows more of a depth of songwriting with a piano intro and a stronger sense of melody throughout. Despite the slower intro, the song is not a ballad but instead is a powerful piece of power metal that features one of the album's best choruses and a great riff. I like the fact that the piano from the intro is used throughout, which helps to add atmosphere when needed. Prog/power bands should use keyboards in my opinion as they really help to diversify the sound. This song is a great example of that, and is one of the few songs here that matches up to the quality of the opening trio. The closing classical guitar outro only adds to the song's depth, and shows what the band can achieve if they really put their minds to it. Fallin' is a bit of a smoother song, with a strangely floaty verse and a fairly light feel overall. While not a ballad, it is certainly the least heavy of the album's songs up to this point and it helps to provide a bit of a chance of pace - despite some pretty tough guitar rhythms at times. Despite this however the song's melodies fail to take hold as much as they should. The chorus is pretty workmanlike, especially when compared to the stadium-filling one that the previous song was built around. King's Reborn that follows however is one of the album's real low points for me. At nearly eight minutes long, it is much longer than necessary and it lacks any real standout melodies. The thing about the song that annoys me the most however is the song's main riff, which is just a blantant rip off of Dio's Holy Diver. It is almost a note-for-note copy which strikes me as extremely lazy, especially when Hernando has displayed on this album, and on the band's previous two efforts, that he is a more than capable riff writer. There is also something about Romero's vocals that grates with me. I am a big fan of his voice, especially at both of the Rainbow shows I have been to, but here he seems to be singing slightly higher than his usual style which does not sound right. It sounds overdone, and sadly a little hard on the ears. His pronunciation seems quite lazy here too, which is not often the case with him, but the song might as well be called 'King's Reburn'!

Long Way to Go is better, and picks up the pace for a faster piece of heavy power metal that sees the band letting their hair down for a fairly powerful romp. Romero is back to his best vocally here, with a gritty performance that puts the strange delivery of the last song to the back of the listeners mind. He spits out the verse lyrics with real venom, which suits the driving guitar riff backing. Andy C. lets rip during the choruses, with a punchy fast beat that allows Romero to unleash some mean low-pitched screams - à la Jørn Lande - to add some real gravity to the song. Hernando's guitar solo is great too, and shows him shredding his way to the finish line to fit in with the song's overall speed. The Edge of Darkness is a groove-based mid-paced offering which returns the keyboards to a more prominent position again which helps to provide some contrast between between the tough guitar sounds as the more melodic synths double up with the main riff and add a counter melody to some of the tough instrumental sections. Apart from some interesting riffs however, the song does not really offer too much else. The chorus features more of Romero's strange, annoying higher-pitched vocals that again grate with me. The melodies throughout do not really grab hold anyway, so that ensures the song does not really stick in the memory. Wait No Prayers for the Dying is the album's penultimate track, and it ups the pace again which creates some energy. I cannot believe that anyone at the record label did not pick up the fact that the song's title makes no sense however. I understand that English is not any of the members of Lords of Black's first language, but having a title like Wait No Prayers for the Dying on the back of your CD case just makes the album look unprofessional. This, along with some of the pronunciation issues encountered earlier on in the album, shows that Lords of Black need to tighten some of the real basics up, and someone at Frontiers Records needs to be working with them in this regard. This is by no means an issue exclusive to Lords of Black however, and lots of the bands I listen to have singers that occasionally pronounce words in somewhat hilarious ways, but to have song titles that have me double checking the CD booklet to make sure iTunes' Gracenote song metadata database has not made a mistake is not a good sign! All I Have Left is the album's last song, and the band's longest song to date, clocking in at over eleven minutes. Despite its length, it is a pretty strong song that mixes faster and slower sections together well to create a coherent and interesting piece of prog metal. Unsurprisingly there are a lot of instrumental sections here, and this gives Hernando a chance to really let rip with his guitar. There are plenty of strong riffs here, and some of the guitar solos are very good indeed - with some hooky folky melodies thrown in to help keep things interesting. Romero shines when he gets to sing too, but for me this is Hernando's song as his diverse and powerful guitar playing helps to bring the album to a close. Overall, I think it is fair to say that Icons of the New Days is a flawed album - but one that contains its share of strong moments. Two of my favourite songs here were co-written by Andy C., so I would like to see Hernando collaborating with him more on the band's future albums. It could have also done with a couple of slower songs to really help shake the pace up a bit - which could have taken the place of the some of the more dreary offerings Icons of the New Days makes.

The album was released on 11th May 2018 via Frontiers Records. Below is the band's promotional video for World Gone Mad.

Dimmu Borgir's 'Eonian' - Album Review

Regular readers of this blog will notice that I do not review many new extreme metal releases. Despite considerable effort on my part over the years to gain an appreciation for the much heavier end of the metal spectrum, true enjoyment of the majority of black and death metal bands continues to elude me. Occasionally however, a new album comes along by one of the big hitters in extreme metal that I find myself enjoying. Morbid Angel's most recent effort Kingdoms Disdained (which I reviewed here) was the last extreme metal album to really grab my attention with it's uncompromising aural assault. That album was released back in December of 2017, but five months on from that album's release I have found a new extreme metal opus to enjoy. That album is Eonian, the latest album from Norwegian black metal titans Dimmu Borgir - a band I have been a casual fan of for some time. My first real encounter with the band was picking up their 2007 release In Sorte Diaboli at a local second-hand CD shop around ten years ago. While it is not an album that I listen to very often, it is probably the first black metal album that I ever bought. By this point in their career however, calling Dimmu Borgir a simple black metal band seems a little crass. Their early 1990s genesis saw the band revelling in that raw, scratchy sound that defines black metal, but by the time In Sorte Diaboli was conceived, and in fact for a few years prior to this, Dimmu Borgir's sound had become much more polished and symphonic. While frontman Shagrath's vocals still contain the trademark black metal rasp, the band's two guitarists regularly employ tremolo picking for that chaotic black metal sound, the Dimmu Borgir of 2007 (and indeed now) is a much more sophisticated beast. 2010's Abrahadabra pushed the band further into the realms of symphonic metal, but it proved to be a divisive release. It certainly helped the band to reach a wider audience with its strong progressive and symphonic tendencies, but many hardcore extreme metal fans were turned off by the overt melodies found within. Abrahadabra turned out to be the band's last album for eight years, until the release of Eonian last month. With Eonian Dimmu Borgir have continued the strong symphonic path forged on Abrahadabra, but with a greater focus once again on the heavier end of their sound. Eonian certainly feels more like a black metal album than Abrahadabra, and could draw back some older fans of the band that where alienated by the latter. In many ways however, Eonian feels like the natural successor to the band's previous album, and sees the band's core three members (Shagrath along with guitarists Galder and Silenoz) creating more epic music. The three have handled the bass guitar parts between them on this album, with the keyboards and drums once again handled by long-time sideman Gerlioz and Daray respectively.

The album opens with The Unveiling - a feast of dense symphonic arrangements, gothic choirs, and heavy riffs. After a slightly industrial opening, the piece takes off with a lumbering riff backed by wordless choral vocals, before a tremolo-picked riff crashes in atop Daray's fast footwork. The song is a perfect representation of the modern Dimmu Borgir sound, and mixes the band's heavy black metal core with dense atmospheric soundscapes for a captivating. Gerlioz' piano dominates the verses, while Shagrath's crackling vocals add shade to the song's overall light. There are moments of true heaviness, such as the aforementioned black metal riffing, but large portions of the song feel more like a part of a film soundtrack than anything else. There are lengthy sections that see the choirs taking the lead vocally, with a gorgeous symphonic arrangement to back them up - all with minimal intervention from the band apart from to provide a basic rhythm. In this respect the song can feel like an elongated intro piece, but with moments of harsh black metal thrown in to set the listener up for what is to come. Lead single Interdimensional Summit is a true symphonic metal piece, complete with epic melodies and dramatic string stabs. There are parts of the song that would not sound out of place on one of Nightwish's more recent albums, but with Shagrath's snarls replacing the female operatic vocals. It works well however, and shows how far Dimmu Borgir have come since their raw early 1990s roots. The chorus once again sees the choirs take the lead for an epic delivery that would not feel out of place in the grandest of cathedrals. Despite how great this sounds, it is a shame that much of the album's first two songs have been handed over to choirs vocally, diminishing Shagrath's role in the delivery. I would have liked to hear his voice mixed in with the choirs to add some overall grit and darkness. Ætheric ups the heaviness however and feels like the first true black metal piece on the album with a lightning-fast opening riff that shows of the guitarists' picking speed as well as drummer Daray's chops. Despite this opening salvo, the song mostly proceeds at more of a mid pace, with Shagrath spitting out the verse lyrics with real venom over a muscular riff. The song does not follow a conventional structure however, with lots happening in a relatively short space of time. There is a lot more of the choir to be found, but here they mostly back Shagrath which gives the band's frontman a lot more time in the spotlight. The mix of the classical singers and Shagrath's black metal rasps is a great contrast, and helps to the song to become one of the album's highlights.

Council of Wolves and Snakes is another of the album's singles, and opens with a Eastern-tinged snaking guitar riff that slowly builds up over some tribal-esque drumming towards an atmospheric verse that hangs around a ringing bassline. In some respects, the song feels like the musical equivalent of crawling through a dark tunnel, with Shagrath's semi-whispered vocals acting as your guide through the maze. The murky darkness is broken up with occasional bursts of speed, and then beautifully dense sections built around acoustic guitar melodies. Once again there are a lot of moods found throughout, creating a bit of a schizophrenic listen but one that is ultimately satisfying. The Empyrean Phoenix is a bit more of a straight ahead piece, with a soaring main riff that will bury itself in your brain and more focus on the band's traditional metal core. The riffing throughout is strong, and often dominates rather than being buried by the orchestrations - despite a fairly lengthy choral section part-way through. This section aside however, this is probably the most overtly guitar-driven pieces on the album, with playful lead sections mixing in well with dense well-of-sound parts driven by blast beat drumming. Lightbringer is packed full of groove and is built around a mid-paced thrash-esque riff that creeps along menacingly atop a surprisingly simple drum pattern. This is however until the song speeds up with Daray's sudden drumming explosion and Shagrath begins his latest snarling aural assault. There are parts of the song where the keyboards and the orchestrations are almost entirely absent, which allows for the band's paint-stripping black metal more to really shine. There are moments here which sound like the Dimmu Borgir of old - raw and uncompromising - but then another keyboard melody will start and the listener is dragged back into 2018 and the band's modern sound. Vocally, this is a powerful piece and probably allows Shagrath more time singing unhampered than anywhere else on the album. The choral parts are kept to a minimum here, which allows the true heaviness of the song to shine through. I am Sovereign is the album's longest piece at just shy of seven minutes in length, but this does not stop the band going for an all-out metal assault throughout with much of the song operating at a high tempo. Given the length of the piece however, and more progressive approach is inevitable and slower moments are peppered throughout. There is a really heavy section that sounds more like something from an old-school death/doom record than a traditional black metal album, with Shagrath's vocals taking on a much lower and darker tone than usual. This gives the song a different sound to anything else on the album, as Shagrath's usual semi-spoken snarls sound so different to his vocal approach here. It works well however, and adds some weight to a diverse song that sounds like an early Opeth song one minute, and a lighter symphonic piece with floaty guitar leads the next.

Archaic Correspondence is more overtly black metal however, and ups the album's quota of moments of raw power with plenty of abrasive blast beat drumming and harsh guitar melodies that deliberately clash with each other for that classic unsettling black metal vibe. That being said however, there are still moments of light in the darkness. Soloists from the choir take short lead vocal sections which provide a change of pace from Shagrath's snarls and the huge choral onslaught. This helps the song to stand out, and brings back memories of ICS Vortex's time in the band when he would occasional provide sections of clean vocals for contrast. Alpha Aeon Omega definitely sounds like a song that could have appeared on In Sorte Diaboli with the band's core black metal sound dominating. The orchestral elements are more of a supporting piece here, and are often mixed into the background, which allows the band to dominate. There is some of the album's best drumming to be found throughout this song too, with mid-paced groove sections sitting side by side with extremely fast sections to provide a workout for Daray. While there are a few choral sections, this is largely a true metal fest with some of the album's most stripped-back passages - something which ensures the penultimate song stands out. This leads nicely into the album's closing piece, the instrumental Rite of Passage. The sound of rainfall is mixed in with doomy piano chords and clean guitar, which is soon joined by a slow drum beat and an orchestral backing. This lengthy instrumental outro is not a heavy piece at all, despite some punchy drumming throughout, but instead one that makes the most of the soaring orchestrals to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a more laid back version of the rest of the album. It works well to bring a dynamic album to a leisurely close, and somehow seems to link back to how the album opened. Overall, Eonian is a varied and interesting album from one of the true veterans of the extreme metal world. This is not an album that can be appreciated in a single sitting, and time needs to be taken to fully appreciate what Dimmu Borgir have tried to achieve. It is an album that creates a powerful atmosphere throughout, and seems to be a statement from the band as to their intentions for the future.

The album was released on 4th May 2018 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Interdimensional Summit.