Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Independent

Metal Warriors Part 2, eh? So… what’s it going to be then? It’s not a split since there is only the one group credited. Is it a tribute album? Kinda. Though, I’d call it more of a compilation of cover songs. And Y.O.C. (as in Yalin Ongun Cosgun, after the vocalist) covers quite a bit in this here cover comp! From 80′s thrash (Metallica) to the super shreddy type stuff (Malmsteen) to Paul Dianno era Iron Maiden.

But the question still remains: Is it any good? Read on…

First up on this seven track disc is Flotsam & Jetsam’s Monster… ok, so we’re off to a bad start. But I can’t rightfully blame the guys in Y.O.C. for this craptastic song. Although, they did choose to put it on this compilation… It’s a great cover of a bad song. Walk away taking that one however you want to.

Up next, we’ve got Iron Maiden’s Remember Tomorrow… Now. We’re. Talking! Not only is this a great cover of a great song, it’s a perfect choice to throw listeners into the mood that Y.O.C. was undoubtedly shooting for! I personally would of scrapped Monster and started off with this one.

And now, onto my my favorite song choice on Metal Warriors Part 2: Blitzkrieg! The best part of this cover is the fact that you can tell that they were listening to A Time Of Changes and not Garage Inc. when they decided to cover this.  A cover, well done.

Regrettably, Y.O.C. cover Metallica’s Battery next. I’m fucking tired of hearing this song! The original and all of the other covers (even Van Canto’s cover of this song kills me on some level) will soon be stricken from my iTunes library if this shit keeps up! To be fair, it’s a decent enough cover instrumentally, though the vocalist’s style just doesn’t seem to sync up through most of the song.

Yngwie Malmsteen’s I Am A Viking? InstaWin! Next track!

Yay! I can bitch again thanks to this cover of Axel Rudi Pell’s Eyes Of The Lost! Look, if this is just a vocal cover compilation, then just do songs that feature the vocalist like this. But thus far, we’ve had track after track that require some skill on the guitarist/bassist and drummer’s parts as well. But again, it’s a good cover so… you know?

Finally, we come to a cover of TORANAGA’s Sword Of Damocles. Gotta be honest, I never heard the original before and by the sound of this cover, I won’t be checking it out. It’s thrashy/heavy metal-y, but it still manages to not be near my cup-o-tea. Sorry guys, ya lost me here.

And that’s that! I HATE cover compilations. Even more, I HATE reviewing them. But as far as these things go, this one wasn’t really bad at all. I got bored listening to songs that I already knew and in most cases, heard much better covers of already. But I didn’t roll my eyes or impatiently wait for the track to finish nearly as often as I normally do.

Overall: If you can’t get enough cover songs, you’ll probably dig this seven track compilation. But if you’re like the rest of us, it’ll wear you down pretty damned quick.

7.5/10

Y.O.C. On MySpace

Genre: Power, Heavy Metal
Label: Century Media

Would you like to hear something funny? I never cared for Iced Earth. Never. I heard a couple of tracks off of Something Wicked This Way Comes and read a couple of interviews with Jon Schaffer (man, what a DOUCHE!) and that was enough for me. But, here I am. Face-to-face with a review that I promised that I’d do even though I really don’t wanna.

At the end of the title track/album opener, I could tell that I was going to have to write some things that are going to have my friends telling me, “I told you so!” Ugh…

Moving into track two, Anthem, Mr. Schaffer cuts loose and mows me down with some dumbfoundingly catchy (re: awesome) riffs! I’m almost ready to take back everything I’ve ever said about Iced Earth, so let’s hope they keep this awesomeness up…

Another tally in the “Pro” side is when new vocalist Stu Block isn’t trying to sound like Matt Barlow or Tim Owens with the high notes, he barrows from the book of Chuck Billy with an almost hardcore bellow. That’s not counting out his own style of clean vocals either. They aren’t great per se, but they do fit where they appear, like in one of the more somber tracks entitled, Anguish Of Youth. And since I don’t have the handicap of being a rabid fan like most of you freaks, I can honestly say that I dig the combination of vocal styles.

I’ve got to hand it to these guys for putting out an album with ten tracks on it that doesn’t seem to repeat itself. I believe that it’s due in part to Brent Smedley’s drum work. Keeping the beats fresh is a tricky thing when you’re supposed to be support for the vocals and lead guitar, but Brent manages to quietly shine in the background while not pulling focus from what, I’m sure, many believe to be the star attractions.

On the Neg, those catchy riffs that Jonny Boy dishes out early on appear to be the extent of what he was willing to do for this album as after you reach the fifth track, all of his work seems to go flat like week old radiator soda. Even the solos seem hollow and phoned in. And since his ax work is what I hear about constantly, that’s enough to drag down the overall score quite a bit.

Overall: I’m still not going to run out and grab as many Iced Earth albums as I can find, but I’m not going to all out ignore them when I hear them on zee metal radios. I would recommend this album to fans of traditional metal in general, no problem.

8/10

Iced Earth Official
Iced Earth On Facebook 

Genre: Progressive, Groove, Speed, Heavy Metal, Psychedelic

Label: Independent

Must… not… make… anymore… SeaQuest… jokes!

I was introduced to this band through a Battle Of The Bands concert that I attended about a half a year ago. They blew me away with their raw talent and unique approach to progressive metal. Not to mention, they were the only band that night that didn’t even remotely sound like any of the other bands (a big ol’ plus since the rest were mostly Panteracore). Come to find out, the bassist/part-time vocalist Ethan Slayton (that is one METAL name!) is a  counter jockey at my local comic book shop, Things From Another World. After a hour or two long conversation about everything from Venture Brothers to Hawkwind to Identity Crisis, I mentioned that I’d be happy to review any material that The Deep Sea Vents would have floating around out there. Happy to oblige, Ethan led me Into The Deep…

Starting off this four song EP is the song Dead Indian Highway, a song title that I thought I heard them shouting when I was washing the dishes and thought to myself, “Now, that can’t be right?” Sure enough, it was. Into The Deep has a running theme of nautical nightmares and other Lovecraftian/check under your bed related stuff (in case you couldn’t tell by the song titles and whatnot) that fits in very well with their brand of what the fuckery style metal.

The vocals vary in terms of quality. When they’re the straight forward Mastodonic yells, they work a-ok. But when they try to branch off into a more extreme vein, they falter a bit. The guitars on the other hand, do absolutely no fucking wrong! Riff after crushing riff leaps out of those twelve combined strings and deafen the listener with awesome! The same can be said about the bass. These are probably some of the most intricate and ballsy licks that I’ve heard since the last Peter Vink project! Then at last, we come to the kit. Drummer Dakota must smoke a lot of fucking weed! His style is reminiscent of Orange Goblin, Karma To Burn and even a little bit of Six Feet Under, so I digs ‘em! Instrumentally, The Deep Sea Vents have it goin’ on! This EP has about a zillion things running around in every direction, in every dimension. So if you want to run your ears through a (sub)Marine bootcamp that’s 20,000 leagues under the sea, then Into The Deep should be right up your alley!

Overall: The Deep Sea Vents offer up an EP that’s full of innovative riffs, bombastic drumming and shroom inspired lyrics that are guaranteed to make you ask the question, “Who’d win in a knife fight, The Kraken or Sauron from The Savage Land?”

We’re gonna need a bigger boat!

9/10

The Deep Sea Vents On Reverbnation

The Deep Sea Vents On Facebook

Genre: Heavy Metal, Speed Metal

Label: Heavy Artillery Records

NONE of you have any idea how badly I have been wanting for this day to come! I’ve been following these lads since they were Final Awakening (sort of) then Leatherwitch and then finally, Spellcaster. “I can’t wait until the demo comes out.” It did. I reviewed it. “Can’t wait for the EP to launch!” It did. I reviewed it. “Hey guys, when’s the album gonna get here?”

Oh, it’s here…

Under The Spell features re-recordings of all of the songs from the EP Spells Of Speed (minus the live tracks) so there’s an instant metal boner for anyone who missed out on all the glory of Locked-On or Chainsaw Champion. In addition to old favorites, the soon-to-be new crowd favorite, Nite Of The Hellbeast and insta-pit-stigator, Molten Steel and more join the ever grown ranks of completely off the wall classics that Spellcast farts out like three alarm chili!

Thomas Adams still sounds as powerful as ever, especially since they went back and did retakes of when he faltered a wee bit back on the EP. The track, Sands Of Fear is where he gets to kick you in the ass the hardest with his unique brand of vocals. He even dips into some growls from time to time!

Cory and Tyler still have it in spades when it comes to whipping up neck-wreckin’ riffs! I dare you to listen to Molten Steel and NOT try to bang your head and play air-guitar! And let’s talk about the human beer can that is Shad Covert and his ability to expand on a gallop beat until it’s a living, fire breathing entity… shit! Shad actually conjured the goddamned Hellbeast!

Holy fuck! I can hear Gabe playing the shit outta his bass this time around! It sounds glorious and all, but in Power Rising, there’s a few spots were it kind of fluctuates from the background to the foreground in a odd bit of a mixing snafu. No real harm done though. You just REALLY get to hear what he’s made of for a few seconds!

There is one thing I should bring up though. As far as “new” material goes (they’re all technically new since they were all re-recorded) there’s three totally new tracks and an minute, forty-one intro on an eight track album. Some may find this bullshitty, but most of us won’t care to terribly much.

Overall: The spells have been cast, the posers slain and your life has been given meaning! Under The Spell is every bit as mind blowing as you thought it’d be and maybe even a little more! Recommenced for fans of… well, METAL!

9/10

Spellcaster On Reverbnation

Spellcaster On Facebook

Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Stomp Records

Byron Stroud, best known for his work in Strapping Young Lad and Fear Factory, started this band from the reunion of Caustic Thought, and brought Burton C. Bell in when the original singer decided not to take part. So what ended up happening is a strange little bastard child was created with City of Fire – its a beast with a very diverse set of teeth.
Opening with the particularly catchy/nut punching “Carve Your Name”, a mood is definitely set for the album, and it’s obvious it’s not a cheery one. The music seems to be taking cues from death metal, with maybe a bit of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influence (a nod to trad metal song structure/tone) or even Canadian hard rock from the 90′s (hm… strange that…).
There’s even some touches of Type O here.
Overall, there’s tons of stuff going on with various tempos, moods – usually angry or melancholic moods – and textures in the general sound of the album. A great thing about this is it’s catchiness. It wouldn’t surprise me if you checked it out and was singing choruses the next day.
At first listen, however, I hated this. I even wrote a different review that ripped this album all new sets of assholes. Then I listened to it again, and realized it’s pretty damn good. And that I shouldn’t listen to review material when I’m in a bad mood.
Favorite tracks: “Carve Your Name” and “Rising”. The latter s a great hard rock tune while the former is an angry metal song that will definitely get stuck in your head.
7 out of 10.

City of Fire on Facebook.