Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Heavy, Power Metal
Label: Killer Metal Records

It has been quite a while since I’ve received something even remotely close to heavy metal or power metal. Iowa’s metal maestros Unity manage to cram the two aforementioned genres together with a wee bit of a progressive sound thrown in for a taste of fucking awesome!

Within the first two tracks you can tell that these guys really like their Iron Maiden. The third track erases any doubt of that completely and then raises the flag for fans of Gamma Ray! I’m tingly all over! Especially when a wicked solo erupts out of nowhere and melts your face clean of the bone (a la Raiders Of The Lost Ark). Following your facial reconstruction, vocalist Alonso “Zo” Donoso finishes off what’s left with a voice so perfect for what Unity is doing here. Power vocals that may as well be the voice of God since when Zo sings, everyone listens. Not necessarily because they want to, but because they are compelled to.

Even the obligatory power metal ballad doesn’t suck! Do you have any idea how fucking rare it is to come across a band that decides to write and record a ballad that isn’t cheesy, oversimplified or just plain horrible? Blue Moon rare! Honestly, I don’t know if I can make this any clearer to everyone. Unity is amazing, plain and simple. Check them out if you’re new school, old school or anything between or beyond.

Overall: Seriously, if you’re a fan of European heavy/power metal and wish that there was an American band could sound just as good, look no further. You’ve found them! True American Metal is REBORN!!!

10/10

Unity Official
Unity On ReverbNation
Unity On Facebook  

Genre: Folk Metal, Power Metal
Label: Independent

Hailing from Minnesota, the Minos have their work cut out for them with their debut album, MMXI. Why does their state of origin extra pressure from the metal community at large? Easy: Minnesota is a state that really loves what it loves. Football? That’s uber serious shit there. Food? The more German or Scandinavian, the better. I can only imagine that Minnesotan metalheads take their music pretty damned seriously too. Also, with the ever growing popularity of Alestorm, Swashbuckled and even a resurgence of attention being paid to Running Wild, I’ve already had people tell me that, “that shit is gay” after I played a track or two from them off of MMXI. How bothersome, right?

Listen, I love Alestorm though, not as much as I love Running Wild mind you. The point is, Minos stand on their own without being a carbon copy of other bands that may or may not be trying to cash in on the (hopefully dying soon) pirate fad.

Vocalist Jason Hickman has the perfect voice for this kinda of thing. His clean vocals are more gruff than melodic and even manages to belt out a healthy/bluesy yell or roar every few songs. A perfect example of using something in moderation that EVERYONE else overuses. Another example to show you how hard these guys rock: guitarist Joe Waller (of Dawn Of Valor) cuts loose in a completely different fashion that I was used to being the Dawn Of Valor fan that I am. Excellent hooks, memorable riffs and the like are to be heard all over this gem of an album.

Moving away from the instrumentation for a minute, I’d like to draw attention to the lyrics. Minos essentially drops you into a high fantasy world with vengeful forest spirits, treason and of course, pirates. These are easily some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard in metal.

Yes, there are a few songs on MMXI that are completely about being a pirate. But only a couple and the fucking kill! Case in point: Pirate Soul. I caught myself getting too into this song when I shouted, “become on of them, OR DIE AT THE MAST!!!” in what I thought to be an empty parking lot. Turns out a few homeless dudes heard me make an ass outta myself since I sound nothing like Hickman.

Overall: Minos is a band to watch out for in the coming years. They may seem like a bunch of scene hoppers at first glace, but I assure you that if you slow down, take a deep breath and pull that stick out of your ass, I can say that you’ll love this album as much as I do.

9.5/10

Minos On Facebook 

Genre: Power Metal
Label: Independent

Few things put a wider smile on my face than receiving a package in the mail that contains pure, unadulterated power metal! I guess that the guys in Dawn Of Valor knew that I was feeling a little down a few days ago since they sent me an EP containing three solid track of just that! And guess what? I’m all fucking smiles once again!

I dug Dawn Of Valor’s self titled 2010 demo enough to give it an 8/10 rating. Upon listening to it again after listening to Immortal Flame, I’ve noticed that all of the improvement that the band made where due in part to a line-up change. Now, this is kind of shocking to me since I’m a guy who doesn’t like changes being applied to things I enjoy (which is one of the reasons why it took me so long to watch David Tennant’s run on Doctor Who after Christopher Eccleston was the lead. I’m so glad I did though! Same with Matt Smith… this tangent went on longer than it should of…).

When I heard that they switched out vocalists, I was more than bummed since I really liked Sean Iredale’s vocal style… but that lasted all of two seconds after Jaden Adair kicked in with some pretty badass power vocals! Similar cheers can be made for Joe Waller’s frantic drumming and Andrew Johnson’s axemanship. And after all was said and done, I consider the roster update a resounding success!

I don”t normally single out songs and praise/bitch about them in my reviews (I’ve been told that I should do it more often), but Immortal Flame makes it hard not to with Valkyrie Sky. This track is pure power metal perfection! Heavy, melodic, mid-tempo to start and then cuts loose into a bitchin’ solo that, if you’re not ready for it could send you straight to Valhalla! Also, this genre is riddled with shitty lyricism, so mad props to John Leibel for stitching this masterpiece together.

Oh, and the icing on this already scrumptiously fattening cake of powah? The closing track, There Can Be Only One is about… shit, do I really have to tell you? …although, maybe I should since that series is plagued with towering mountains of bullshit that might throw some people off. The song based on the first Highlander flick and it does this particular sacred cow more justice than ANY of the sequels!

Gripe Time (Don’t worry, the list is short.): Ugh! Again with precious time being eaten up by a spoken word intro track! PEEVE! And as much as I enjoy the new stylistic changes to the guitar scheme, I’m a little off put by the solo in Lutetium. It comes off sloppy and maybe a little forced.

Overall: Other than those little ol’ complaints, I can say with my head held high that this EP fucking owns! Here’s to this Immortal Flame burning forever! Cheers!

9/10

Dawn Of Valor Official 
Dawn Of Valor  On Facebook

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 

Genres: Heavy Metal, Power Metal
Label: Frontiers Records

It’s a boring Holiday Monday here at FRZ HQ as I type this, and to bust up the boredom, Benedictum come crashing in with some great heavy metal with good amounts of power thrown in for measure.
The guitars of Pete Wells are shredtastic riffs and Veronica Freeman’s vocals are stellar. Chris’ five string bass and Mikey’s drumwork form a solid spine to support everything else, along with Tony’s keys (which I wish were a little more present).
This stuff rocks, perfect for fans of Judas Priest, Armour, and Iron Maiden. They’ve been noticed by metal god Ronnie James Dio and worked with George Lynch and Jeff Pilsen, and this album, their newest, hold much promise to bring Benedictum to the fore of American traditional metal.
7 out of 10.

Benedictum on Facebook.
Benedictum Official Site.