Dystopia Megadeth 2016 Tradecraft Records/Universal Music After 2013’s lacklustre album Super Collider, Megadeth needed something, Dave Mustaine needed to take the reins and bring the Megadeth machine back into the fold. Super Collider sounded like a band going through the motions, it sounded stale and was sub-par formulaic. Super Collider has some decent songs, but it says something when the cover of Thin Lizzy's Cold Sweat was one of the best on the album. Predictably, soon after, drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick left Megadeth to pursue other endeavours. For Dystopia, Mustaine loaned Chris Adler from Lamb of God on drums God and recruited Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro into the Megadeth lineup and the impact is instantaneous, the sound of Dystopia is as fresh as it was back on United Abominations. Dystopia is produced by Mustaine and Chris Rakestraw who have presented an excellent sounding record. Each instrument is rip-roaringly crisp, the mix is near flawless and although reminiscent of Rust in Peace or Countdown to Extinction, Dystopia is a very modern sounding record and proves that Megadeth are still very much relative and worth their salt. The lyrics on Dystopia are typically Megadeth. Mustaine stamps his authority once more all over a Megadeth album and lyrically, Mustaine is on fire. Dave Mustaine's lyrics are not always to everyones taste and there are many that do not agree with Mustaine’s views. However, Mustaine has a great sense of cynicism and sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether Mustaine is being tongue in cheek, nationalistic or nihilistic about America and it is that ambiguity that can be so appealing about Megadeth. Last year, Megadeth toured with Lamb of God and Children of Bodom. During this tour, Megadeth debuted Fatal Illusion, a new song which was going to be on Dystopia. Fatal Illusion begins with the rattling bass of David Ellefeson and builds into a cynical look at the Western world which has come to be expected from Megadeth. This theme runs throughout Dystopia, prime examples of this are in The Threat is Real, Death from Within, Post American World and the title track itself. Each song is full to the brim of Mustaine’s observations, possibly giving a glimpse and an insight into what some Americans must be currently feeling. Dystopia is relentless from start to finish, Mustaine sounds rejuvinated and it seems that he has located his songwriting mojo. But this is not all on Mustaine's shoulders, credit where credit is due, the fresh vigour can also be attributed to the fresh injection of blood from Adler and Loureiro. The inclusion of piano on Poisonous Shadows only helps to show off Loureiro’s other skills and helps to show another side to Megadeth and even how the addition of a different member can help add to the Megadeth sound. The interplay between Mustaine and Lourerio on guitar is great. Power Metal fans will already be aware of Lourerio from Angra and as all Power Metal musicians are, Lourerio is an extremely talented and a fantastic guitarist. However, playing in Megadeth gives Lourerio another prong in his attack, at times Lourerio sounds a too much like Marty Friedman and his playing can seem rigid and a little too calculated. As with all Megadeth albums, Dystopia is not only technically good, it is extremely catchy too. Every song contains a hook or a melody, a little slice which allows you to get off on and appreciate. The Emperor is possibly the catchiest song on Dystopia and goes to show that as humorous as The Emperor is, Mustaine has lost none of his guts and venom when it comes to attacking a subject or person that has incurred his wrath. Dystopia finishes with a cover of Foreign Policy by Hardcore Punk band Fear. Foreign Policy really suits Mustaine’s voice, his gritty, raw tone rips through the record and to the untrained ear it has all the hallmarks of a Megadeth song, to which Megadeth could easily pass off as their own. Megadeth have once more released a decent thrashy record. Dystopia is fresh and current proving that Megadeth can still hold their own without feeling the need to reference the earlier work of their youth as a justification of their actions in the present. Dystopia is a fantastic album of cynicism and conspiracy theory laden songs that has truly set the benchmark for the rest of the year. It's good to have Megadeth back! 9/10 Adam The Threat is Real (Mustaine)
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Jomsviking Amon Amarth 2016 Metal Blade Records Amon Amarth are a Melodic Death Metal hailing from Sweden. The themes and sounds in which Amon Amarth base themselves on is the heathen Viking culture and are almost easily identifiable amongst their peers with their unique take on Melodic Death Metal. The way that Amon Amarth portray each song is like a Viking skald, gripping you and engrossing you within its story. Jomsviking is the 10th studio album by Amon Amarth and is the follow up to 2013’s Deceiver of the Gods. Jomsviking itself is a concept album, telling the story of a member of the Jomsvikings who loses his love and accidentally murders a man, leading our protagonist’s thoughts to be consumed by the echoes of the past. The idea of a concept album can be a dirty word, conjuring up overblown, odd Progressive Rock from the 70’s. However, that should not put you off as Jomsviking is a great new addition to the already large Amon Amarth repertoire. The production of Jomsviking has been handled by metal producer wizard, Andy Sneap. Once more, Sneap works his magic on Jomsviking and with Sneap being heavily involved in the metal world, he knows exactly the sound Amon Amarth are looking for. Jomsviking is heavy and brutal without managing to lose sight of the story of which Jomsviking tells. Sneap has done a fantastic job of getting the best out of Amon Amarth with every instrument being interesting, holding your attention throughout being able to be heard clearly in the mix. Amon Amarth is made up from the distinctive and instantly recognisable vocals of Johan Hegg, the twin guitar of assault of Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg are backed by the bass guitar of Ted Lundström with the vacant drum position being filled by Tobias Gustafsson after the departure of long time drummer, Fredrik Andersson. One thing that makes Amon Amarth different and sets them apart from other Melodic Death Metal bands is the way in which Hegg phrases the delivery of his lyrics. Hegg has a way of delivering the words as if he sat in a great hall telling you the story about everything he has seen and the skalds that he has learned in his youth. This delivery makes the likes of First Kill, Wanderer and One Thousand Burning Arrows feel so intense and an absolute pleasure to listen to. However, it is the one-two punch of Raise Your Horns and The Way of Vikings which make Jomsviking, the choruses are big and melodic, perfect for the live environment and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Amon Amarth wrote these with that in mind. The Queen of Metal, Doro Pesch, guests on the penultimate song on Jomsviking, A Dream That Cannot Be. Having Pesch guest on the album, gives A Dream That Cannot Be a completely different feel and the way that Hegg and Pesch’s vocals play off each other on works really well, giving A Dream That Cannot Be a yin and yang feel, their voice melding well when singing simultaneously. Jomsviking is a solid piece of Melodic Death Metal and whilst Jomsviking make feel a little dragged out at times it certainly doesn’t contain any filler. However, the better songs on Jomsviking manage to overshadow the weaker ones, but the underlying story throughout helps pull Jomsviking together into a decent album. 7/10 Adam At Dawn's First Light (Amon Amarth)
Abbath Abbath 2016 Seasons of Mist Records Abbath is a Black Metal legend who forged his name with Norwegian Black Metallers Immortal. After Immortal split in 2015, Abbath announced that he would continue playing as a solo artist, only for Immortal to continue without Abbath. The split, reformation and split into two camps has caused some issues, the main one being over the legality of the Immortal name. Abbath is the first foray into the metal world as a solo artist, with Abbath biting first before his ex-band mates. With Abbath, Abbath sticks to what he knows and it isn’t a million miles away from past releases by Immortal. Abbath, along with his voice, also plays the guitar being joined by King on the bass with the drum slot being filled by Creature. As with any solo album, it is more than fine to be dubious with so many musicians releasing mediocre and sub-par solo albums featuring their friends. Thankfully, Abbath doesn’t fall into this category. The production of Abbath has been engineered by Dag Erik Nygaard and Daniel Bergstrand who between them have created a wall of sound, in the true Black Metal style with a huge mass of distortion that manages to swamp everything in their path. Abbath’s guitars are pounding, sawing through the mix accompanied with King’s bone rattling bass with the relentless, technical drumming which has made him renowned on the drum tech and session musician circuit, all this combined with the prowling growl of Abbath slices through the speakers reminding you of what have Immortal their sound. Abbath gives you a sense that Abbath is once more having fun, Abbath sounds fresh and as rejuvenated as he did back in 1993. Abbath opens with the commanding To War! With its exceptionally catchy chorus as Abbath rips through ‘once more into the breach, to war!’ However, it is the lead single of Winterbane where Abbath shows that he doesn’t need the Immortal name to show that he is capable of creating a decent track. It is great to see Abbath sticking to what he knows with him trying ‘something different’ or having to use the phrase ‘it was just a phase I was going through’, if you know Abbath, you know what you’re getting and that is certainly not a bad thing. The follow up single to Winterbane is the sublime Count the Dead. Count the Dead contains a great guitar solo that tears Abbath a new one and only seems to add to a song as it builds up and up to the guitar solo. Clocking in at 41 minutes, Abbath will have you subconsciously banging your head to the beat all the way through. Abbath is relentless and it never lets up, Ashes of the Damned, Fenrir Hunts through Root of the Mountain and are all highlights of the album. Abbath doesn’t stray from what he knows and Abbath is a great first effort as a solo artist. Abbath has released a decent Black Metal full of great songs showing that he doesn’t need the Immortal name to sell records. However, Immortal will also release an album later this year and it will be interesting to see how they counter such a strong release from Abbath. 7/10 Adam Winterbane (Abbath/Dancaster)
Sword Songs Grand Magus 2016 Nuclear Blast Records Sword Songs is the 8th studio album by Swedish Heavy Metal band Grand Magus. Over the course of their albums, Grand Magus have managed to shake off the Doom and Stoner Metal genre tags that seem to follow them around to be what they are; a great Heavy Metal band with sword, sorcery and fantasy themes which makes you want to raise your drinking horn to the air and praise Odin. With each release, Grand Magus have started to appeal to a wider demographic. Grand Magus’ music is infused with, a classic metal groove honed with a modern sound. Grand Magus manage to show their appreciation towards bands such Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Rainbow through their own music that is steeped in Norse history and mythology. The production on Sword Songs was again done by Nico Elgstrand and just like 2014’s release of Triumph and Power, Elgstrand manages to find and continue the sound that is undoubtedly Grand Magus. The production is top notch, a modern sounding record that could easily have been released in 1980 and because of this, Grand Magus are starting to pull older Metal fans in and rightly so. Sword Songs is full of catchy and melodic hooks that really show the essence of what Grand Magus is all about. Sword Songs is a collection of great records from Forged in Iron – Crowned in Steel, a pure singalong complete with chest beating of Viking Metal! To Born for Battle (Black Dog of Brocéliande), Master of the Land, Last One to Fall and Frost and Fire. Each song seems to have been crafted with the live environment in mind and only go to showcase Sword Songs as being a worthy successor to the previous album Triumph and Power which was fantastic. For a 3-piece, Grand Magus make a lot of noise and unlike a lot of bands, it is the smooth MK III Deep Purple Coverdale-esque vocals from JB which seems to drive the songs forward. The way JB sings manages to make Grand Magus’ songs sound more like stories and the music works around that. JB’s guitar moves from held on chords whilst his voice does its magical thing to Black Sabbath and Judas Priest style chugging. JB is a great guitar player, he doesn’t overplay and colours around his vocals with flourishes, preferring to give the spotlight to the other instruments. Ludwig doesn’t just keep the beat, they manage to fill the sound and the way Ludwig plays the drums is very melodic without the feeling of just keeping time. The glue that holds Grand Magus together is bass of Fox, he is the anchor and what makes Grand Magus work. It is sometimes the power of what Fox doesn’t play, that one elongated note or staccato note can make a song and this is shown in Freja’s Choice. As mentioned above, Sword Songs is a great follow up to 2014’s Triumph and Power and certainly follows in the same vein. However, Sword Songs falls just short of matching its predecessor, but that isn’t a bad thing. Triumph and Power was one of the best albums of 2014. Sword Songs shows that Grand Magus have no signs of slowing down and it is another great album of solid songs. 8/10 Adam Forged in Iron - Crowned in Steel (Grand Magus) Ghostlights Avantasia 2016 Nuclear Blast Records Avantasia is the Metal Opera side project of Edguy’s Tobias Sammet, who uses his downtime from Edguy to create the Metal Opera that is Avantasia. Avantasia features many different guest musicians, from vocalists, through guitarists and drummers with each album telling a story through each song. Ghostlights is the 7th studio album from Avantasia and concludes the story started with 2013’s The Mystery of Time in which we find the protagonist Aaron searching for the truth through a series of philosophical questions posed by important figures in his life, from scientists to spirits. The production of Ghostlights was conducted by Sammet himself along with long standing studio partner Sascha Paeth and between them, Ghostlights sounds not just epic, but soars from dizzying heights to melancholic lows. The production on Ghostlights feels much warmer and grandiose than it did on The Mystery of Time, because of this Ghostlights is a massive improvement on the previous album, the guests are better suited to the music and the overall quality of the songs are much better. The lead single from Ghostlights was Mystery of a Blood Red Rose and was also a contender for the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. For Mystery of a Blood Red Rose, Sammet originally wrote the song with Meat Loaf in mind as the guest. However, this didn't come into fruition with Sammet opting to sing the song himself. Mystery of a Blood Red Rose is an extremely catchy song that will have you hooked and you get the feeling that with Ghostlights, Sammet has outdone himself. A host of stellar musicians have been recruited for Ghostlights; a welcome return to the Avantasia fold for Jorn Lande who sadly didn't appear on The Mystery of Time. Lande's powerful voice only serves to add to the theatrical and dark themes that run through Ghostlights, with Lande playing the part of Temptation in Let the Storm Descend Upon You , the roaring Lucifer and the epic title track sung with the instantly recognisable voice of the ex-Helloween man, Michael Kiske. Two vocalists who make their Avantasia debut with Ghostlights are Twisted Sister's Dee Snider and ex-Queensryche and current Operation: Mindcrime vocalist, Geoff Tate. Dee Snider guests as Nightmare on The Haunting and at first listen, Snider's voice is a million miles away from his work with Twisted Sister. Snider's voice is creepy, dark and fits perfectly with his role of Nightmare, although at times you would never recognise it to be Snider. Geoff Tate plays the role of the second Scientist on the superb Seduction of Decay. Seduction of Decay is a Rage for Order sounding song that showcases Tate's voice perfectly with a voice that has not sounded this good in 20 years. Bob Catley from Magnum reprises his role as the Spirit for A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies, Catley's voice adds an element of familiarity, warmth and a worn in sound as once more Catley delivers a beautiful vocal and an Avantasia album wouldn't be right without an appearance by him. After the title track, the next song, Draconian Love features Herbie Langhans on the vocals who sings his parts in a low tone giving Draconian Love at times a late 90's-early 2000's, Paradise Lost feel with Sammet himself singing in a higher tone, effortlessly pushing his voice into overdrive. Sammet and Paeth have excelled themselves, Ghostlights is a fantastic album of extremely well crafted, melodic songs which are full of hooks complimented with a sleek finished production. All the guests on Ghostlights step up to the plate of what Sammet expects from them with a professional and stellar performance. Ghostlights is a long album clocking in at just under 75 minutes, however, Ghostlights doesn't feel long as each song will have you utterly engrossed. 9/10 Adam Mystery of a Blood Red Rose (Sammet)
Ministry
19/08/2016 Manchester O2 Ritz Set List:
This Ministry concert was something that I had been looking forward to, through various clashes and circumstances in the past, this was me losing my Ministry virginity. It was an extremely wet night in Manchester (isn’t it always?) and therefore, I wasn’t in the best of moods, my jacket and jeans were thoroughly saturated. But, it didn’t take long to warm up and dry, The Ritz is a great venue, although their prices are a little to be desired. Tonight, The Ritz was a full house and one of the hottest concerts that I have been to in a good few years. I’ll keep it short and sweet, Ministry were supported by Californian groovers/nu-metal chancers DevilDriver, never liked them on record and they’re even more dire live. Plenty of people in the audience were obviously only there for DevilDriver and seemed to really enjoy, but as for me, I didn’t get it and I doubt I ever will. The concert got much better once DevilDriver finished their set and Ministry came on. Opening with Hail to His Majesty (Peasants), the first song from their latest album From Beer to Eternity began with a tribute to Lemmy and continued at full throttle through Punch in the Face, N.W.O., Just One Fix and Stigmata. Al Jourgensen is relentless as ever, always moving, never still and looking like he was having the time of his life. Jourgensen never says a word to the audience, but has them in his thrall throughout, commanding and communicating without directly addressing, which is an exceptional talent to have. The set finished with Thieves from The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste, one of my favourite Ministry albums and after coming back on for the encore of Psalm 69, Ministry launched into one of the most nihilistic songs that I’ve ever heard in So What? After leaving the stage again, Ministry returned for a second encore to perform a cover of DEVO’s Gates of Steel from Jourgensen’s other project, Surgical Meth Machine before saying good night for the final time. Coming home, I began to think, it’s a wonder sometimes how the hell Al Jourgensen is still alive, yet, my God, he has still got it. Long live Ministry. Adam The Last Stand Sabaton 2016 Nuclear Blast Records Sabaton are a Power Metal band from Sweden with songs that revolve around military-history. Sabaton are very unique in their approach to Power Metal, their music is heavier and the vocals of Joakim Brodén are sung at a much lower pitch through his Swedish accent which only add to the atmosphere that Sabaton manage to lay down. The Last Stand is the 8th studio album by Sabaton and is the follow up the 2014 well received album Heroes. The Last Stand is a concept album regarding famous last stands in history and was recorded with the same line-up and has the sound of a band who are now well acquainted with each other from the heavy touring that the success of Heroes brought Sabaton. The production duties of The Last Stand has been handled by long time Sabaton producer Peter Tägtgren. Tägtgren knows the sound of Sabaton inside and out and The Last Stand is no different. The Last Stand has a sound somewhere between Heroes and The Art of War, however, The Last Stand also contains some of the chamber-choral elements that made Carolus Rex so impeccable, this can be heard clearly on The Lost Battalion and the choral sound takes centre on the title track. The title track from The Last Stand was chosen to be the lead single from the album and at first listen, The Last Stand has many similarities to the closing track from Heroes, Hearts of Iron. The melody itself, especially in the chorus is very similar with the phrasing being almost like-for-like. This sort of phrasing, is a recurring theme through The Last Stand and at times you can get the feeling that The Last Stand has been a little rushed with the heavy touring taking its toll. Rushed or not, Sabaton have once more, as they always do, come up with the goods. The stories behind the songs are interesting choices such as Hill 3234, Winged Hussars and Rorke’s Drift, stories from history that many have overlooked or completely forgotten about. Brodén doesn’t exactly have the best voice, but what he does have is power and a way of delivering the lyrics that not only tell a story, but also have you gripped wanting to know more by being fully engrossed. The remaining members of Sabaton are exceptionally talented, the long standing bassist Pär Sundström has always been dependable and an integral part of Sabaton. The more recent members of Sabaton in the shape of Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund on the guitars and Hannes van Dahl on the drums have managed to stamp their authority all over the sound of Sabaton. Sabaton always seem to subconsciously evolve their sound, the major scale tones used in The Blood of Bannockburn give a different sound to what Sabaton can offer and maybe in the future, Sabaton will explore this route more. The songs Last Dying Breath and Hill 3234 wouldn’t be out of place on The Art of War from 2008, whilst Shiroyama, Sparta and Winged Hussars would fit perfectly into 2010’s Coat of Arms. The Last Stand is a great album and fantastic follow up to 2014’s Heroes. The Last Stand has a sound which is undoubtedly 100% Sabaton, created by a band that are now well bedded into their current line-up. There are times when the album feels like Sabaton are re-treading old ground, the pure epic-grandiose feel of the album more than makes up for this. At the year end, don’t be surprised if you see The Last Stand in the upper echelons of the best albums released in 2016. 9/10 Adam Blood of Bannockburn (Sabaton)
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