Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal
Label: AFM Records

Leave it up to AFM to find one of the only bands in the world, if not THE only band in the world to mix melodeath and power into a new genre of music. Mind you, the power is not overt in its presentation, the album is primarily melodic death, but there are undertones of it.
Anyway, genre definitions aside, Solution.45 have crafted an awesome album, taking the listener through different emotional territories. Heavy ass riffs, melancholy-filled guitars, hooks that grab your face, and solos that craft air guitars at a moment’s notice fill the ten songs on the album. And all this is brought by ex members of Scar Symmetry, Sonata Arctica, Mors Principium Est, and a shitload more awesome bands, with guest vocals by Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity’s frontman for those that don’t know).
Fans of really cool keys, heavy guitars, fast solos, and solid fucking metal should check this album out.
8 out of 10.

Solution.45 on MySpace. (street team)

Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: AFM Records

It’s no secret around the E-MetalSpace office that I have a raging man crush on front man extraordinaire Christian Alvestam. I will easily fall head over heels in love with whatever the man touches, so I’m going to do what I can not to be too biased about Solution .45’s debut album For Aeons Past… but I’m going to warn you, it’s going to be VERY hard since not only is one of my favorite vocalists fronting the band, but they’ve got Angel Blake bassist Andres Edlund, Misseration drumer Rolf Pilve, and more on board (I know they all work together in other projects…) to make this the a duper of a super group.

I was a little confused when opener The Close Beyond started off like Soilwork’s Sworn To A Great Divide… the confusion ceased about thirty seconds later and the song just took off! Alvestam’s clean vocals soar over the melodic soundscape and suddenly dive, headfirst into the ground, drilling straight to the core with his near perfect death growls. I say near perfect because he seems to pull them back a bit to showcase his cleans more, so the awesome contrast that you get from Scar Symmetry is reversed (more clean than death) and not as engaging. He’s still god in my opinion though…

As for the instrumentation, let me just say this: *thonk!* I was expecting a bit more harshness to it all but was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong (for the most part). Every song is an exercise in converting emotion into sound through uniquely melodic riffing, complex flourishing, impressive variation in snare usage and impactful lyricism. And sixteen minute album ender Clandestinity Now is an epic topper to this hot metal sundae of an almost supernatural joy!

Overall: It’s exactly what you expected to hear and worth every bit of the hype. .45 is the Solution for me… oh, wait…

9/10

Solution .45 On MySpace

Also Posted On E-MetalSpace

Genre: Melodic Power Metal
Label: AFM Records

Starting with the great track “Forsake What I Believed”, Brainstorm’s Memorial Roots is a hell of a power metal album, full of slower numbers and some neck breakers too. Andy B. Franck’s voice is totally in control of the entire disc, while Torsten’s and Milan’s guitar work brings a nice heaviness to this slab of metal.
If you’re a fan of power metal at all, check these guys out. They’ve been around for while, and they’ve got lots of great stuff behind them. And if albums like this keep coming out, they’ll have  a lot more great stuff ahead.
8 out of 10.

Brainstorm on MySpace.

Genres: Heavy Metal, Power Metal
Label: AFM Records

I love German metal. And so, it’s no surprise that I love Axxis’ Utopia album. Right from the start it’s full of powerful riffs, nice keyboards, and an amazing vocalist. Bernhard Weiss is his name, and he’s got a strong set of pipes that register a little on the high side.
The album itself is a fantasy story about finding Utopia, and for the first time in Axxis history, features a song sung in German (“Fass Mich An”).
If you’re down with traditional heavy or power metal, or you just want to try it out for the first time, or if you’re even a fan of Axxis already, I definitely think you could do yourself a favour with picking up this album.
My favourite tracks are “The Last Man on Earth”, “Fass Mich An” (which makes me want to find more power metal that’s all in German), and the slower “Father’s Eyes”.
8 out of 10.

Axxis on MySpace.