RATT - Crown the Lost - Cog Culling - Avantasia
RATT - Infestation
RATT – Infestation – Loud & Proud/Roadrunner
by Jeffrey Easton
Are you sure it is not 1987? RATT has dealt a time travel machine with Infestation, the CD to take the fans back to when they were young and glam ruled the rock scene. Infestation take up where Invasion Of Your Privacy left off. Whereas the S/T comeback from 1999 bowed more to modern times this album plays to what RATT did and does best, guitar driven melodic sleaze. Stephen’s vocals are on par with his history and the songwriting is back. The songs play up to their standards and with stunning tracks like A Little To Much, Eat Me Up Alive and Last Call the band are on all cylinders, firing loud and dangerous. The pure stand out is Best Of Me, a #1 Rock Charts track if I ever heard one. The chorus is catchy enough to hook you in for repeated listens, this IS the RATT you have come to expect. It’s called Infestation for a reason, it infests your brain and wrecks havoc with your senses. This album deserves all of the accolades it will receive and if you have not bought this yet you are sorely missing out.
BUY IT
by Jeffrey Easton
Are you sure it is not 1987? RATT has dealt a time travel machine with Infestation, the CD to take the fans back to when they were young and glam ruled the rock scene. Infestation take up where Invasion Of Your Privacy left off. Whereas the S/T comeback from 1999 bowed more to modern times this album plays to what RATT did and does best, guitar driven melodic sleaze. Stephen’s vocals are on par with his history and the songwriting is back. The songs play up to their standards and with stunning tracks like A Little To Much, Eat Me Up Alive and Last Call the band are on all cylinders, firing loud and dangerous. The pure stand out is Best Of Me, a #1 Rock Charts track if I ever heard one. The chorus is catchy enough to hook you in for repeated listens, this IS the RATT you have come to expect. It’s called Infestation for a reason, it infests your brain and wrecks havoc with your senses. This album deserves all of the accolades it will receive and if you have not bought this yet you are sorely missing out.
BUY IT
Crown the Lost - Blind Faith Loyalty
Cruz Del Sur
by Miguel Blardony
Pittsburgh’s Crown The Lost should be proud to count themselves among the elite of America’s metal underground. Technical finesse, originality, and a fresh approach to melodic thrash metal are among the band’s aces in the hole, but the most prominent distinction they possess is vocalist Chris Renaldi, who’s a regular Bruce Dickinson behind the mic at the tender age of, uh, his early twenties?
The point is, for such a young guy his pipes have enough power to light up Nevada and he should rightly be one of your reasons to purchase this splendid sophomore release. Just listening to his throat soar throughout the eleven cuts here makes you thrill at the thought of what Crown the Lost can achieve in the future. Alas, the rest of the band cannot be ignored either. As mentioned, Crown the Lost are a promising bunch. Between guitarists David Ghelke and Joe Bonnadio may lie the seeds of future greatness. The rhythm section refuse to be overshadowed as well, considering Crown The Last’s strong inclination for complex arrangements.
As the album launches with the edge-of-your-seat opener “Defaming The Hypocrites” the listener can expect to be gratified by the modern vibe coursing through each note Crown The Lost play. They’re certainly no gallops n’ cheese power metallers and borrow the same rollicking grit that has made At The Gates endure down the ages. However, it’s also at the first song where the problems bedeviling “Blind Faith Loyalty” become apparent: Crown The Lost may have great ideas, but they don’t fly. By eschewing the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus structure the quintet end up with a royal mess of confusing turns and ‘progressive’ touches. It’s as if a bucket of ice cold water were poured on your white-hot expectations for a satisfying experience.
Despite the clumsy song structures and the neutered mixing that takes the edge off the music on occasion, the band still go about the task of unleashing their most ambitious material to date. “Drawing The Parallel,” “Impose Your Will,” “Dreaming In Reverse,” and “Hollow Refuge” may not compel you to press the repeat button, but they’re fine songs by anyone’s measure. Unfortunately, several months after the release of “Blind Faith Loyalty”, wunderkind Chris Rinaldi left the band, but Crown the Lost wasted no time recruiting a new frontman for this year’s album number three, “Cold Pestilent Hope.” Don’t miss it!
by Miguel Blardony
Pittsburgh’s Crown The Lost should be proud to count themselves among the elite of America’s metal underground. Technical finesse, originality, and a fresh approach to melodic thrash metal are among the band’s aces in the hole, but the most prominent distinction they possess is vocalist Chris Renaldi, who’s a regular Bruce Dickinson behind the mic at the tender age of, uh, his early twenties?
The point is, for such a young guy his pipes have enough power to light up Nevada and he should rightly be one of your reasons to purchase this splendid sophomore release. Just listening to his throat soar throughout the eleven cuts here makes you thrill at the thought of what Crown the Lost can achieve in the future. Alas, the rest of the band cannot be ignored either. As mentioned, Crown the Lost are a promising bunch. Between guitarists David Ghelke and Joe Bonnadio may lie the seeds of future greatness. The rhythm section refuse to be overshadowed as well, considering Crown The Last’s strong inclination for complex arrangements.
As the album launches with the edge-of-your-seat opener “Defaming The Hypocrites” the listener can expect to be gratified by the modern vibe coursing through each note Crown The Lost play. They’re certainly no gallops n’ cheese power metallers and borrow the same rollicking grit that has made At The Gates endure down the ages. However, it’s also at the first song where the problems bedeviling “Blind Faith Loyalty” become apparent: Crown The Lost may have great ideas, but they don’t fly. By eschewing the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus structure the quintet end up with a royal mess of confusing turns and ‘progressive’ touches. It’s as if a bucket of ice cold water were poured on your white-hot expectations for a satisfying experience.
Despite the clumsy song structures and the neutered mixing that takes the edge off the music on occasion, the band still go about the task of unleashing their most ambitious material to date. “Drawing The Parallel,” “Impose Your Will,” “Dreaming In Reverse,” and “Hollow Refuge” may not compel you to press the repeat button, but they’re fine songs by anyone’s measure. Unfortunately, several months after the release of “Blind Faith Loyalty”, wunderkind Chris Rinaldi left the band, but Crown the Lost wasted no time recruiting a new frontman for this year’s album number three, “Cold Pestilent Hope.” Don’t miss it!
Cog Culling - Tower of Doom
by Miguel Blardony
Few albums this year will likely elicit as many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ than this colorful sophomore opus from Cog, a rather unique Filipino sextet who’ve been in the business of avant-garde metallic complexity for the last several years. Building on the strengths of their “Conflagration” debut almost four years ago, the material at hand eschews the previous album’s blundering, almost doom-laden pace for a blistering thrash metal backbone that runs through the 13 sprawling tracks here.
Ever the consummate professionals, a spotless mix and crystal clear production lend a glittering varnish to each note Cog play. When “Congeal”’s soothing start sends shivers of excitement down our hair follicles, expect the tender music to have the consistency of raindrops until the heavy stuff lumbers in and teeters like a drunken brawler. At least these are the mental images Cog feed our thoughts with as you’re oh so gently (despite the heaviness) swept away by the easy pace of the album’s beginning. The tempos don’t begin to race until the thrash-driven “Promethean” ignites a brush fire in our mind. (Not so subtle hint at John Schaffer.)
As the album proceeds to unravel, prepare for a sonic bombardment unlike any other. It’s sometimes easy to namedrop comparisons, but with Cog it’s difficult to point out who they’re sounding like in today’s scene because even if their repertoire’s ingredients won’t be lost on metalheads, the bands niche remains difficult to place. If such is the case, then Cog is Cog. They are sui generis. Who wouldn’t blush at a compliment like that? It’s true, though. Just allow yourself to be hypnotized by the mood swings, the shades of color, Garon Honasan saxophone magic, plus frontman Yagi Olaguera’s irresistible alternating vocal melodies.
For the most delectable cuts, feast on “Culling,” “This Means War,” the wonderful interlude “The Sky Is Falling,” “Calliope,” “The Onus,” and the raging “I Am The Storm.” Despite the dearth of sterling choices, the whole albums really stands on its own. This writer won’t even hesitate to call it perfect. Words truly fail “Culling.” It’s so ‘out there,’ you gotta hear it to believe it.
www.towerofdoom.net
Few albums this year will likely elicit as many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ than this colorful sophomore opus from Cog, a rather unique Filipino sextet who’ve been in the business of avant-garde metallic complexity for the last several years. Building on the strengths of their “Conflagration” debut almost four years ago, the material at hand eschews the previous album’s blundering, almost doom-laden pace for a blistering thrash metal backbone that runs through the 13 sprawling tracks here.
Ever the consummate professionals, a spotless mix and crystal clear production lend a glittering varnish to each note Cog play. When “Congeal”’s soothing start sends shivers of excitement down our hair follicles, expect the tender music to have the consistency of raindrops until the heavy stuff lumbers in and teeters like a drunken brawler. At least these are the mental images Cog feed our thoughts with as you’re oh so gently (despite the heaviness) swept away by the easy pace of the album’s beginning. The tempos don’t begin to race until the thrash-driven “Promethean” ignites a brush fire in our mind. (Not so subtle hint at John Schaffer.)
As the album proceeds to unravel, prepare for a sonic bombardment unlike any other. It’s sometimes easy to namedrop comparisons, but with Cog it’s difficult to point out who they’re sounding like in today’s scene because even if their repertoire’s ingredients won’t be lost on metalheads, the bands niche remains difficult to place. If such is the case, then Cog is Cog. They are sui generis. Who wouldn’t blush at a compliment like that? It’s true, though. Just allow yourself to be hypnotized by the mood swings, the shades of color, Garon Honasan saxophone magic, plus frontman Yagi Olaguera’s irresistible alternating vocal melodies.
For the most delectable cuts, feast on “Culling,” “This Means War,” the wonderful interlude “The Sky Is Falling,” “Calliope,” “The Onus,” and the raging “I Am The Storm.” Despite the dearth of sterling choices, the whole albums really stands on its own. This writer won’t even hesitate to call it perfect. Words truly fail “Culling.” It’s so ‘out there,’ you gotta hear it to believe it.
www.towerofdoom.net
Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony
Nuclear Blast
by Miguel Blardony
You gotta admire Tobias Sammet. Perhaps no single individual in the European metal scene has given his staid genre a new lease on life the way he has. By harnessing the ever majestic appeal of symphonic keyboards and speed metal (no doubt patented by Gamma Ray), he has woven enormous Avantasia albums that have involved the best in the business. For the series’ latest installments, whose first part is this “Wicked Symphony,” the newest collection of soaring tracks (dull power ballads included) bring together a half dozen guess stars that span the melodic realm, from Jorn Lande’s gravelly croons to Claus Meine’s hard rock wheeze, on eleven songs that indulge our craving for uplifting thrills.
Having listened to the album several times over, rest assured “The Wicked Symphony” follows an arc familiar to Avantasia devotees. The ride always begins with a massive opener that fires our anticipation for the ensuing musical fare and this is no exception. It won’t let you down and may even inspire several repeat listens before you settle for the other tunes. Weighed down by cinematic pomp and infectious hooks as it gets the party started, the song “Wicked Symphony” has the vocal duties shared between Sammet, Jorn Lande, and Symphony X’s Russel Allen, whose inclusion was a long time coming. A masterful exercise of Avantasia magic, the album’s opening salvo is the very essence of Tobias’ vision.
The music takes a more familiar turn on the next song “Wastelands” and then gets a tad heavier for Ripper Owens’ testicle popping debut “Scales of Justice.” The truth is this writer finds it a bit wobbly. Despite the additional heft, it sounds as if Tobias wrote an Iced Earth-esque tune so that Ripper could best utilize his glass-shattering wails. Anyway, moving on now, Avantasia’s newfangled focus on pop-oriented fare is what the listener is fed next with “Dying For An Angel” and “Blizzard On A Broken Mirror.” The piano driven ballad “Runaway Train” showcases the boring side of Tobias and might be familiar to those keen on Savatage’s slower moments. More of the tender stuff stews at the end, past the invigorating “States of Matter” you find “The Edge” where Tobias lets his softer side take command (again). Mostly impeccable, a bit excessive, plain boring on its cheesiest parts, however it’s received, “The Wicked Symphony” is a solid continuation of the Avantasia brand.
by Miguel Blardony
You gotta admire Tobias Sammet. Perhaps no single individual in the European metal scene has given his staid genre a new lease on life the way he has. By harnessing the ever majestic appeal of symphonic keyboards and speed metal (no doubt patented by Gamma Ray), he has woven enormous Avantasia albums that have involved the best in the business. For the series’ latest installments, whose first part is this “Wicked Symphony,” the newest collection of soaring tracks (dull power ballads included) bring together a half dozen guess stars that span the melodic realm, from Jorn Lande’s gravelly croons to Claus Meine’s hard rock wheeze, on eleven songs that indulge our craving for uplifting thrills.
Having listened to the album several times over, rest assured “The Wicked Symphony” follows an arc familiar to Avantasia devotees. The ride always begins with a massive opener that fires our anticipation for the ensuing musical fare and this is no exception. It won’t let you down and may even inspire several repeat listens before you settle for the other tunes. Weighed down by cinematic pomp and infectious hooks as it gets the party started, the song “Wicked Symphony” has the vocal duties shared between Sammet, Jorn Lande, and Symphony X’s Russel Allen, whose inclusion was a long time coming. A masterful exercise of Avantasia magic, the album’s opening salvo is the very essence of Tobias’ vision.
The music takes a more familiar turn on the next song “Wastelands” and then gets a tad heavier for Ripper Owens’ testicle popping debut “Scales of Justice.” The truth is this writer finds it a bit wobbly. Despite the additional heft, it sounds as if Tobias wrote an Iced Earth-esque tune so that Ripper could best utilize his glass-shattering wails. Anyway, moving on now, Avantasia’s newfangled focus on pop-oriented fare is what the listener is fed next with “Dying For An Angel” and “Blizzard On A Broken Mirror.” The piano driven ballad “Runaway Train” showcases the boring side of Tobias and might be familiar to those keen on Savatage’s slower moments. More of the tender stuff stews at the end, past the invigorating “States of Matter” you find “The Edge” where Tobias lets his softer side take command (again). Mostly impeccable, a bit excessive, plain boring on its cheesiest parts, however it’s received, “The Wicked Symphony” is a solid continuation of the Avantasia brand.