If you’re familiar with Bowes’ other band, Alestorm, it will be no surprise that Gloryhammer’s music is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it’s no joke. Yes, Bowes and his cohorts dress as wizards, warriors and elves, and they skewer some of the tropes and conventions of the power metal genre with some laugh out loud moments. But when it comes to the music, it’s no laughing matter. This outfit is tight, and they play the style much better than some of the “serious” power metal bands out there.

Bowes has put together a solid band, to go with his soaring keyboards. Vocalist Thomas Winkler is a powerhouse that has enough character in his voice to stand out in a sea of singers in the genre that often blend together. The trio of guitarist Paul Templing, bassist James Cartwright and drummer Ben Turk are locked in, sounding like they’ve been playing together for years.

Tales from the Kingdom of Fife is, naturally, a concept album about a fantasy version of medieval Scotland. The tale gets underway with a galloping story of a unicorn – yes, you read that right – a unicorn invasion of the town of Dundee. Mind you, these aren’t normal unicorns, but evil, undead unicorns.

That’s followed up by the introduction of our hero, “Angus McFife,” who arises from the smoking ashes of Dundee. This is one of my favorite tunes on the record, a majestic number with an earworm chorus. I haven’t been able to get the thing out of my head since I heard it.

The rest of the album tells the tale of his quest for vengeance. He, of course, has to find a magical hammer of glory, save a princess and do some other heroic things along the way. All along the journey, the guys in Gloryhammer never tip their hand to the satirical nature of what they’re doing, and the truth of the matter is that they end up making music that’s far better than most of that coming out of what has, for me at least, become a pretty stagnant genre.

“Quest for the Hammer of Glory” and “Hail to Crail,” for example, are better Manowar songs than Manowar has put out in quite some time. In the synth line of “Hail to Crail,” Bowes also offers just a little bit of a nod to Alestorm with a modified version of his patented high seas sound.

And, of course, what would an epic power metal record be without the, well, epic song. That would be “The Epic Rage of Furious Thunder,” a ten and a half minute opus that opens with an operatic sound that Winkler plays really over the top. It’s one of only a few places on the record where they give away the fact that they’re not completely serious. From there, we move into a bashing and soaring, double bass drum-filled power piece that pauses briefly for a whispered line from a female voice. It shifts through movements that bring back that silly operatic voice, then the obligatory symphonic interlude, here accompanied by female vocals, then the Queen-like build back up to the blazing speed part and finally an overwrought, wizardly spoken word wrap up of the story to the thunder and soft fade away.

So, yeah, Bowes and his merry band are having a little piss-take with the genre, but in the process they’ve created one of the few power metal records that I’ve spent serious time with in recent years. Of course it’s cheesy. It’s power metal. Of course it’s funny. It’s Christopher Bowes. But it’s not goofy, and it’s no joke. Some “real” power metal bands could study what Gloryhammer does to learn how to create a more compelling album.

It’s not that they do anything out of the ordinary or innovative in the power metal world. It’s just that they do what they do so well. It’s a very guitar-driven, traditional-influenced power metal sound, and they’re one of the most consistent acts out there doing it.

Few Against Many gets started right where you expect it to with first single “Wall of Sound.” There’s a very awkward part in the first verse where vocalist Apollo Papathanasio delivers this strange “yeah, yeah, yeah” line. After that it recovers quickly and settles into the band’s niche with a big chorus. It might not be their best effort from a lyrical standpoint, but gets things started on a good foot.

As it turns out, though, “Wall of Sound” is one of the weakest tracks of the record. The album picks up quickly with “Losing My Mind” and its dark, slightly distorted intro that features a talkbox from Gus G. It builds to a tough, thrash-influenced riff and an interesting vocal melody from Papathanasio that’s just a little out of the ordinary, and then the big harmonized chorus. It’s one of the better songs on the record. The thrash influence continues in the riffing of the title track, a song that shows off the talents of drummer Johan Nunez, and throughout the record.

Though you still have all the expected power metal melodic interludes and big gang-vocal bits, Few Against Many is firmly set in the band’s heavier vein. It reminds me a lot of my personal favorite from their catalog, 2006’s Allegiance.

Gus G delivers much better riffs on this record than he was given to work with on the Ozzy album. The squealing main riff of “Glorious” is a perfect example. The song as a whole is one of the lighter pieces, with a bit of a commercial hard rock feel, but it’s catchy and memorable. It might be my favorite from a pure guitar standpoint. “Long Gone Tomorrow” delivers another one of those monster hard rock riffs. It, in fact, might have made a good Ozzy song – better than anything on his last two records for sure – but I’m happy with the Firewind version, too.

The band gets an assist from Apocalyptica on “Edge of a Dream” a ballad that’s more about the piano, cello and Papathanasio’s vocals than Gus G’s guitar, though he takes his shot on the lead that’s the only audible guitar on the track for most of the first three minutes.

“Battleborn” goes for a midtempo, epic feel with some chant-like harmonies and some cool guitar effects on the verse that lend to the mood. There’s a very traditional feel – maybe Dio-era Black Sabbath – on the pre-chorus. It’s just a cool all-around song and something just a little bit different for Firewind.

We’re treated to two version of “No Heroes, No Sinners.” The first featuring a soft melodic verse interspersed with a soaring chorus and some bouncy metallic riffing. The second is a fully acoustic version, which I kind of like better. It has a more organic feel to it in the guitar, though the vocals, in places, are just a little too produced and stand out in contrast to the simple guitar as opposed to the full band treatment.

Bottom line, Firewind is still Firewind, and they’re still one of the best things going in the genre today. It’s consistent, top notch power metal. Just what I expected.

Album opener “Hung, Drawn and Quartered” announces the intention quickly with aggressive riffing, a big gang vocal chorus and singer Mark Tornillo delivering some of the lines in a more Udo-esque snarl. It’s a great way to start the record, but the energy doesn’t hang around the way it did on Blood of the Nations. I’m not sure if the band felt fans wanted more of the old sound on this one or what, but the regression is, at times, a little disappointing, especially given how awesome the last record was.

The title track runs more along the lines of Blood of the Nations, with some interesting harmonies, a catchy chorus and more of an epic feel overall. You can tell that the band was trying to do something special with this song, and they achieved it.

That’s where things start to taper off a little for me, though. “Hellfire” is a great traditional metal song, no doubt. There’s a really good Wolf Hoffmann riff and Tornillo delivering some solid snarls and shrieks, but it comes off a little flat and recycled to my ears. The same could be said of “Against the World.” And that’s the problem with much of the record for me. Outside of a couple of duds, the songs here are all solid representations of what Accept’s classic sound is about, but I find myself wanting a little more.

There are some really strong songs scattered around the album. The dark and melodic “Shadow Soldiers” is a favorite. No, it doesn’t go out on a limb away from the Accept sound, but I really dig the leads from Hoffmann and Herman Frank and it’s one of those songs that illustrates Tornillo’s talent. This definitely wouldn’t have been the same song with Udo. Along the same lines, the blues-flecked groove of the beginning of “Twist of Fate” delivers a little bit of a, pardon the pun, twist, and I really like the energetic riff of the chorus and how it plays off the rest of the song.

I’ll readily admit that my slight disappointment in this record probably comes more from unrealistic expectations on my part than from any failing on the part of the band. The truth is Stalingrad is a really good Accept record and a satisfying serving of traditional metal. It’s just that Blood of the Nations had such an impact on me, an admittedly casual Accept fan, and Stalingrad doesn’t deliver that same kind of gut-punch. Those records don’t come along every time though, and that’s probably just me whining. The album rocks, and fans of the band’s classic records should definitely enjoy Stalingrad.

Tommy Victor and Co. fixed my lack of interest with the first track “Eternal Heat,” which blasts out of the gate with a squealing, energetic guitar riff and pummels the listener over the head for about four minutes. The message at the end of the song is clear – the energy and fire are most definitely back.

The big riffing continues on second track, “Keep on Living in Pain,” which definitely recaptures some of the feel of early records – Beg to Differ and Prove You Wrong. There’s a great memorable chorus on the song, which is something that was sadly lacking on Power of the Damager.

First single “Revenge … Best Served Cold” kicks the catchiness up a big notch. It’s an energetic number maybe a little more in the vein of something off Cleansing with some alternative rock overtones mixing with the heaviness and some nice shredding thrown in for good measure. “State of Rebellion” also wouldn’t be out of place on Cleansing with that more mechanical style of riffing and just a hint of the industrial.

The title track delivers a slinky, almost doom-like main riff. There’s certainly some Ozzy-era Black Sabbath influence in Victor’s verse vocals, and perhaps a nod to “Children of the Grave” on a galloping riff late in the song. The wavering backing vocals that are woven into the music on the chorus are also really cool in headphones.

The great thrash riffs just keep coming throughout the album with tracks like “Ammunition,” “List of Grievances” and “Reinvestigate,” the last one having a huge melodic chorus. There are great groove moments, like the early verses of “Subtract” and the heavier parts of “Path of Least Resistance.” Basically, everything that Prong has done over its career comes together in some way on Carved into Stone, and it’s all done incredibly well.

This is easily, in my mind, the band’s best overall work since Prove You Wrong. While Power of the Damager might have been a return to form in some ways, Carved into Stone is what you call a comeback album – and a damned good one.

With the next track, “Parting,” my meh turned into something a little more interested. It opens with a djentish guitar riff, then a violin rises up over that and gets things kicked into a rollicking folk metal tune. It pulled me deeper into the record to “Voices in My Head” and its driving main riff. There’s a little bit of folk in the song, and the pre-chorus is interesting, but the key to it is that tough, thrashing riff that kicks it off and comes back after the choruses with some dark whispers and an occasional growl over it. It’s a powerful bit that’s sure to have you banging your head along.

The following ballad, “The Road Not Taken,” is a stark contrast to “Voices in My Head,” just a soft guitar and a melancholy vocal from Jessica Thierjung. “White Lily” brings in some symphonic elements, but the chorus brings back the Lacuna Coil comparisons. Or maybe it’s just Thierjung’s voice, which is in some ways similar to Cristina Scabbia on a few of these choruses – but that’s not a bad thing at all.

The symphonic elements come out more on “Aus der Tiefe,” and the soft, dark “Wenn die Engel Fallen,” while the folk and symphonic get blended on “Side by Side,” which brings back some of the more interesting melodies, at least on the verses. Sadly, the album closes where it began, with one of the more pedestrian numbers in “Repentance.”

Thierjung has a great voice, and the band is solid, but they have a tendency, especially on the choruses, to fall back into some pretty standard goth/power metal melodies. I’d like to see them be as creative on there as they are in other parts of the songs. They should also drop the straight songs and mix in more of the folk elements. That’s where they’re at their best. Though I’m unfamiliar with the band’s earlier work, it’s my understanding that it’s much heavier on the folk metal. I may have to explore those records, because I like what I hear of it here.

I walked away from Leverage loving a few of the songs, but with an overall sense that there’s a lot of untapped potential in Lyriel. At times, they seemed to be reining the songs in a little and pulling them back toward a more standard sound. They shouldn’t. Just cut loose with the folk stuff and let it go where it goes.

Normally, I’m not a fan of intros, but the one on this record, which is like a radio promo, is pretty awesome. That leads into a selection of rock covers that includes AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” Kiss’ “Rocket Ride,” ZZ Top’s “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers,” Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh,” Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

Most are fairly faithful covers. You’d expect no less from a band that expressed it’s appreciation for some of these bands so openly on its debut. The exceptions are “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “Ramble On.” The Twisted Sister cover, they play as more of a punk number, and to me, it doesn’t work. It’s the only song on the record that I don’t really care for. “Ramble On” sticks closer to the Zeppelin melody, but transforms it from the folksy tune it was to more of a rocker. I actually like the treatment.

When they don’t mess with the original, they still manage to be able to make the songs their own, with some small touches. The most notable and entertaining, perhaps, being their working of a verse of Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” into “Caught in a Mosh.” Everything, of course, gets a coat of 1980s shine, but in a good way. I didn’t think I’d like their version of “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers,” that being one of my favorite Top tunes, but it grew on me pretty quickly and is now one of my favorite tracks on the record.

None of the songs match the originals, of course, but they’re not intended to. Three Thirteen main man Randy Weitzel understands well that you can’t do that, and doesn’t try. Devil Music does exactly what it was meant to – pay tribute, have fun and whet appetites for their upcoming release Overdrive Alive. For me, it succeeds on all three levels.

It opens with first single “Appomattox,” which, as you might guess, is based on the Civil War battle. In this song alone, we’ve got great grooves, wailing guitar solos and some big, doomy riffs thrown in for good measure. It gets things off to a good start. We go a little more Southern-fried on the opening of “Tale of Mathias,” which is less metal and more rock ‘n’ roll. It also throws some attitude-laden female harmonies into the mix on the chorus to spice things up. It’s a nice addition to Dave Hammerly’s gruff vocals, which are fitting, but a little one-dimensional on this record.

“A Steward’s Prayer” is a little more droning and more toward the doom/stoner side of the band. The big guitar riffs from rhythm player David Kowalski, who is one of the strengths of the band, have plenty of attitude and power. Todd Ingram’s solo accentuates the Southern flavor that’s apparent throughout.

The boogie number that I’ve been waiting for shows up with “6 O’Clock Swill,” which features an infectious, strutting main riff. Hammerly’s vocals keep it grounded in the sludgy sound of the band, but it does make me wonder – much like favorite “Mississippi River” from Southern Darkness – what the band would be capable of if they ever just let it rip on a full-on Southern boogie.

The instrumental “Road to Eulesis” mellows things out a little bit with some dark, bluesy and occasionally trippy guitar work from Ingram that’s really nice – perhaps some of the best stuff from either King Giant record. It eventually gives way to a more metallic sound about halfway through, but despite ramping up a little, the leads maintain that same feel and tone. I’m not always a fan of instrumentals, but when they’re done this well, who can argue?

The songs on Dismal Hollow are often slightly longer and go through more movements than those on Southern Darkness. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. “O’ Drifter” takes the listener on a journey well worth taking with sludgy riffs, a gallop here and there, and one of the more interesting passages on the album about two-thirds of the way through that seems to mix a traditional metal lick with a Southern rock. I also love that tough clean riff that kicks in about five minutes in. On the other hand, I feel like the best parts of “Pistols and Penance” are bracketed by less interesting passages. But that’s about the only quibble I can find with this record.

There’s no sophomore slump on Dismal Hollow. The King lives on.

 Dark Adrenaline blends all of those elements. There’s some of the bouncy stuff, there are some very commercial numbers, and there’s a little bit of that goth rock slipping back in around the edges.

Things start well. First single and first track “Trip the Darkness” is probably the best song Lacuna Coil has recorded since Comalies. It opens with a heavy riff, and the vocals are heavy on Cristina Scabbia and light on Andrea Ferro – which was a complaint with some of the songs on Shallow Life. When you’ve got a voice like Scabbia in the band, why is she being used so often to accentuate Ferro’s less than impressive vocals? There’s a nice hook on the song, and there’s a little darker, goth feel. If the rest of the record could live up to that song, Dark Adrenaline would be awesome.

“Against You” provides another rocking riff and verse, but the chorus doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s a soaring bit, and instead of giving it to the soaring voice of Scabbia, it goes mostly to Ferro. There’s a very tasty solo on the track that lifts it back up, and the song ends on a strong note. So far, so good.

“Kill the Light” keeps things headed in the right direction. There’s a little darkness, a great vocal from Scabbia, and they use Ferro where he’s most effective on a more uptempo and aggressive chorus. I love the little exotic flair right after the second chorus, too. The softer Ferro interlude, not so much, but it all works together.

At this point, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic, but I’m still holding my breath for it to fall apart. “Give Me Something More” is the first drop off, giving us a couple of dance beats and playing more to the Shallow Life sound. Still, it’s not a horrible song. “Upsidedown” brings back the nu-metal sound and is pretty meh. I don’t hate it, but I could live fine without it. A fairly pedestrian love song follows in “End of Time,” and more nu-metal stuff on “I Don’t Believe in Tomorrow” announce that we’ve officially hit a lull.

“Intoxicated” injects some energy back into the record, though. There’s a huge, grooving riff on the track and Scabbia’s belting again. There’s a little of all the elements in this one, and I’ve got a smile on my face and the stereo cranking again. “The Army Inside” is a driving rocker and while not spectacular, I like it. There’s a very 1980s-flavored guitar solo that appeals to my nostalgic side.

Now, we get to the track that I’ve been both anticipating and dreading – their cover of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” I knew from the time that I saw it in the tracklisting it was likely going to be either awesome or awful. In reality, it’s neither. I’ll grant that I have a slight aversion to the song since I heard it every time I turned around as a teenager, but the Lacuna Coil version really moves me neither way.

The final two tracks are a split. “Fire” is an angry song without enough anger behind it. Instead it goes with the poppier sound of Shallow Life. But “My Spirit” is the ballad I was hoping for. It’s dark, it’s gothic and there’s a seething anger lurking just beneath the surface. The growling guitars are muted, but they create a great tension under the verse, and I like Ferro’s delivery there, too. I don’t even mind the Italian spoken word part. It ends the album on a very good note.

When guitarists Cristiano Migliore and Marco Biazzi get turned loose, their stuff is great. Scabbia, in my opinion, remains the best female voice in the metal world. The record is tight, and it sounds fantastic. Granted, there are a few mediocre tunes and the R.E.M. cover, but there’s nothing here that I dislike and the record has some of their best work in a decade. Overall, Dark Adrenaline is a winner, and it’s easily Lacuna Coil’s best work since Comalies.

Pharaoh is dependable. So much so that I wanted to say that they do on Bury the Light pretty much what they’ve done since they released 2003’s After the Fire, but I went back and took a listen to that record in preparing to review this one. What I realized was the band’s sound has evolved quite a bit since those days, but it’s been in a gradual way. So if you’re familiar with Pharaoh, no, you won’t be surprised by anything you hear on Bury the Light. But there are nuances.

First track “Leave Me Here to Dream” is one of the most obvious as a full-on prog rocker. Bassist Chris Kerns gets a little bit of a spotlight in the early going, and the slightly angular riffing of Matt Johnsen is interesting. There’s also a nice prog jam section toward the middle of the song. As always, Johnsen’s licks are impressive without being overbearing. He’s the rare great talent that delivers what the song needs rather than stepping outside of it to try to show you everything he can do on the fretboard.

But it’s not just the shredding arena where Johnsen’s strengths show. There are some very cool clean guitar pieces scattered around. There’s a nice brief one at the beginning of “In Your Hands” before it becomes a more prototypical power metal number. But my favorite is the dark interlude early in “Castles in the Sky.” The song itself is kind of a NWOBHM number, but that little run is awesome and reminds me a bit of a Jeff Waters Annihilator piece.

Vocalist Tim Aymar is as much a strength of Pharaoh as Johnsen. He can hit all the power metal notes, but there’s an aggressiveness in his voice that many singers in the style don’t have. It comes out on thrashier numbers like “The Wolves.” He  hits those highs, as on the chorus of “Graveyard of Empires,” but he’s not afraid to turn in a softer, more emotional performance, either, which he does well on “The Year of the Blizzard.” That song is interesting, as well, in the inspiration it takes from The Who. There are some choppy Pete Townshend-inspired 1970s classic rock licks that lead into the heavier portion of the song, then later there’s another one of those cool clean guitar parts that leads into a build-up very reminiscent of the classic band.

That, of course, brings me to probably my favorite song on the record, “The Spider’s Thread.” It opens with another one of those nuances, some clean, very jazzy sounding guitar chords, then a very heavy riff attacks over them. There’s some power, some thrash and some prog in the tune, and those opening chords do make another appearance. Like most of the songs on this album, it doesn’t go for the easy hooks either musically or vocally, yet it remains quite hummable and memorable.

There are, of course, a few songs on Bury the Light that do stick pretty closely to that early sound of the band, particularly late in the record. “Burn With Me” and the darker “Cry” fit the bill.

I’d be remiss after mentioning everyone else if I didn’t give a little credit to drummer Chris Black. After all, he lays the base for everyone else to build on, and he shines particularly on proggier numbers like “Leave Me Here to Dream” and “Graveyard of Empires.”

If you’re familiar with Pharaoh, you know, pretty much what you’re going to get, and you know that it’s going to be quality. If you’re not familiar with Pharaoh, what the hell’s wrong with you? It’s time to discover them, and Bury the Light is as good a place as any to start.

The album opens with an old school hard rocker “Lady Twilight,” which heads back into that original early 1980s metal territory that I liked so well on On Fire. The song flat out rocks, with a wailing guitar riff and a great chorus hook that gets stuck in your head. It reminds me of recent efforts from acts like White Wizzard and Holy Grail.

Though, I’ll admit that I don’t remember much about Nightlife, based solely on my review of it, it would seem that vocalist/bassist John E. Wooten’s chops have improved a bit over the years. I really like his approach here, and the songwriting also seems to have gotten better. He’s dropped the occasional screams in favor of a full-on traditional metal approach and it absolutely works.

Though “Lady Twilight” is probably my favorite track, there are plenty of good ones here. “In Dreams” opens with a classic clean guitar lick that puts me in mind of some of Judas Priest’s earliest work. It’s nice and tasty. There are some great vocal harmonies on the track and another catchy chorus. “Take Hold of the Night” picks up the pace of the record again, delivering an epic chorus with an infectious galloping heavy guitar riff underneath. It runs a close second as my favorite of the record.

“The Burning Ones” takes the band more into power metal territory, but the opening riff is great, and there are some very nice leads in the song by guitarist Chris Bennett. Those lead licks carry over into “Live Beyond,” which also features a big power riff. “I Scream for Ice Queen,” perhaps the heaviest number on Life’s Blood, bashes with thrash-like intensity in the early going, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t the cheesy sex song that I expected from the title. It’s actually a pretty tough, hard-driving and dark number.

There are certainly highlights on the record, notably the first three songs, but there really isn’t a bad tune from start to finish. Life’s Blood has everything you want from a traditional metal album – big guitar riffs, cool vocal harmonies and memorable melodies and hooks. Among the recent spurt of neo-traditional metal albums, it’s one of the few standouts that pays tribute to the roots of the music, but doesn’t try to mimic the classic artists. It’s good stuff, and I’m back on the Widow bandwagon.

I had a fling with Nightwish quite a few years back, but it didn’t last long. I know it will be sacrilege to a certain segment of the band’s fans, but it was really Tarja Turunen’s vocals that did me in. Her soprano, while impressive, was almost too pretty, too perfect. It didn’t have the expressiveness that I thought the music needed, and after a while, her vocal lines sort of blended together for me, no matter what the music sounded like. This isn’t a knock on Turunen, just a matter of personal taste. I’ve got the same problem with just about every female vocalist that sings operatic soprano lines most of the time. I just need a little more variety and maybe, occasionally, a little grit.

I was aware that she had left the band, and I think I checked out a few songs from the first record with Anette Olzon, but by that point, they were well off my radar.

Until a few nights ago, that is, when a few random clicks on Youtube landed me on the video for “Storytime,” the lead single from Imaginaerum. I’m not even sure what made me click on the video when it popped up on the side rail, but about six repeated listens later, it sent me digging around in my e-mail to see if I could locate the promo link for the record.

Instant connections with songs are rare for me, but “Storytime” made one on several levels. First, it’s just a great song. There’s a bit of darkness, a bit of playfulness, a bit of childlike wonder and a bit of the mystical. It’s like reading an old-school fairy tale where the story is, on the surface, bright and happy, but you know that there’s something really bad lurking just in the shadows out of sight. Besides that, there are just a ton of great hooks in the melody lines.

But I was also drawn to the song from a lyrical standpoint. As a wannabe writer myself, I like the ideas here of worlds within worlds in the imagination. I’ve always wanted to capture in one of my own works that perfect vibe of fanciful with just an edge of creepiness and unease that you get with something like Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan. Sadly, I’ve never been able to do it, but “Storytime” does it well.

But, as good as that one song is, there are 12 more on the album, right? How do they stack up? Quite well, actually.

It opens with the folk intro “Taikatalvi,” sung in Finnish by male vocalist Marco Hietala. I’ve got no idea what it’s about – maybe some of the Finns out there can help me out if I haven’t offended them too bad with the Tarja comments – but it’s dark and melancholy and I love it.

“Ghost River” starts off as a pretty straight-forward Goth-style rocker, but moves into more operatic and over-the-top symphonics for a strong chorus that gives Hietala a chance to show his more manic side. As an aside, the guitar riff in the very opening reminds me, for some reason, of early Van Halen, though certainly nothing else about the song does. There are, of course, some nice fairly straight pieces here, like “Rest Calm” and “I Want My Tears Back,” which nevertheless has an interesting, almost Celtic folk feel in the louder portions. The Celtic influence comes back strongly on the ballad “Turn Loose the Mermaids,” which also finds Olzon taking on Gaelic lilt in her vocals. Another ballad, “The Crow, the Owl and the Dove” offers the best interplay between the two vocalists. A melancholy, traditional number in the early going, it gives Olzon and Hietala chances to harmonize and mingle their voices, and you almost wish they’d do that more often.

“Scaretale” is the nightmare segment of the record with some heavy, dark symphonic sounds and a spooky children’s chorus building into a thrashing guitar riff and some very theatric vocals from Olzon. Then Hietala gets his turn on a thumping, fun Vaudevillian segment with no metallic elements whatsoever. From there it’s back to more familiar, but still well-done, symphonic metal territory and then a dip back into that opening sequence to round out the song. Next to “Storytime,” it’s easily my favorite piece on Imaginaerum.

“Song of Myself” gives you the “epic” song, checking in at nearly 14 minutes and bringing most of the sounds on the record together. There are some very heavy segments, some over-the-top symphonic bits and some ethereal gothic parts. The last half of the song is a recitation of a poem inspired by Walt Whitman’s transcendentalist poem of the same name as the song. I rolled my eyes a little on first listen, but I kind of like it after a few takes.

I’ve always been a fan of oddities on metal records, and I love the ones that we get here. The smooth lounge jazz of “Slow, Love, Slow” is really cool, and gives Olzon a chance to show off some huskier, sultry tones. The instrumental “Arabesque” has, obviously, a lot of middle-eastern flavor, but also a dream-like quality to it. During the three minutes of the song, you can imagine, at times, harem dancers moving to the music or Aladdin-style adventures, magic and sword fights.

The whole record has a great variety and a nice flow. It’s all about imagination and dreams within dreams, and the concept is carried out nearly flawlessly. I’m a bit surprised to say that I really, really like Imaginaerum. It’s a record that takes you on a journey, and it’s one well worth taking. It’s a shame that I didn’t give it a listen back in November because it probably would have landed pretty high on my year-end list. On the bright side, the U.S. release date was just last week, so it can still make this year’s, and there’s also a movie in the works based on Tuomas Holopainen’s story, which could be interesting.

Don’t expect rocked up versions of traditional Christmas carols from this holiday release, though. The two tunes here are certainly traditional, but you probably haven’t heard either at your family Christmas party before.

The main track is a cover of King Diamond’s “No Presents for Christmas.” It’s an obvious choice for a metal holiday release, and Holy Grail covers it pretty much straight up like the original. In place of the original “Jingle Bells” intro, they opt for a piece from the Nutcracker Suite, but after that, it’s pretty much note for note. James Paul Luna’s vocals are not as piercing in the highs as King’s, obviously, but he does a pretty good job with it. The song also features the recording debut of new guitarist Alex Lee, and he, along with Eli Santana, provide some scorching axe work throughout. The song goes off-script again at the end, skipping the “Rudolph” interlude and adding a few lines going into the “I’m dreaming of a White Sabbath” line.

The second track is a cover of Rainbow’s “Kill the King,” reportedly chosen simply because Santana was listening to a lot of Rainbow at the time they were recording. Like the King Diamond cover, the Rainbow cover is pretty straightforward. Holy Grail juices the song up just a little bit, throwing in some heavier guitars and drums in later verses, but sticks with the melody line and key points of the original. That’s a good idea since, particularly with an iconic song like this one, you’re not going to outdo the original.

If nothing else, Luna shows that he has a huge set by belting out these songs from two of the most distinctive voices in metal – King Diamond and Ronnie James Dio. Naturally, he can’t match either, but he doesn’t try. He sings the songs the best he can, and that’s pretty damned good. His performance here, and on the band’s last record Crisis in Utopia, is a far cry from the weaker vocals he showed on my first encounter with him, White Wizzard’s High Speed GTO, and I’ve got a new respect for him.

The digital version of the release also features covers featuring a couple of other big voices – Judas Priest’s “Exciter” and Accept’s “Fast as a Shark.” I would have liked to hear both of them, but sadly, they weren’t included with the promo download.

Seasons Bleedings is a fun little two-song set for the holidays, and it also serves to whet fans’ appetite for a new full-length Holy Grail offering, hopefully coming in 2012.

That was my second problem with it. I’m firmly in the John Bush camp of Anthrax fans. I grew up with the Belladonna version of the band, and I still love many of those records, but I usually explain it like this: The Belladonna version of Anthrax was a great band for my youth. It was fast, brash and just a little bit goofy. The Bush version was Anthrax for my adulthood. A little slower, a little darker, a little more serious and a little heavier. And I just think Bush is a far better singer. For me, We’ve Come For You All rivals Among the Living, and I was afraid that the return of Belladonna would mark a return to the more cartoonish Anthrax of the past.

Happily, I was wrong, and I’m man enough to admit it. Worship Music is a fantastic record, easily ranking among their best work.

The first clue I had was when the band relased “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t.” It was a bashing, fast, heavy song that’s about the closest thing you’ll find here to their 1980s work. As much as I didn’t want to like the song, I couldn’t help myself. I ended up listening to it over and over and banging my head along every time.

Fans expecting a return to the sound of the 1980s, though, shouldn’t. Worship Music is not an attempt to recreate Among the Living, though in quality they may have come close. The music here, for the most part, sounds like the modern era of Anthrax – or as modern as you can get from a band that hasn’t released a new record in eight years. There are a lot of similarities between this record and We’ve Come for You All beyond just the cover.

After a fade-in called “Worship,” the record blasts into “Earth on Hell,” a slamming thrasher that features Charlie Benante bashing his drums with a vengeance. Then there’s one of those great groove-laden choruses that mark the Bush era of the band. It’s the first of several times, I admit, that I do indeed still miss Bush no matter how good this record is. “The Devil You Know” opens with a riff that reminds me of a 1970s AC/DC song, only somewhat heavier. It’s actually more of a hard rocker than a thrash tune, but it’s got plenty of memorable hooks and is one of the better songs on the record. The same can be said of “The Constant,” which has a great riff and is another song that’s crying for Bush vocals.

In all fairness, though, I have to give Joey Belladonna props when his voice makes things work, and that’s the case on “In the End,” another personal favorite of mine. It opens with church bells and a great slinky guitar riff. Some dramatic flourishes are laid over it that makes you think they’re about to go a little over the top, but they don’t. It drops back out to that monster guitar riff, and the chorus vocals are a strange mix of arena rock, prog and modern metal. Without Belladonna’s delivery, I don’t think it would work.

The same could be said of “Crawl,” one of the most interesting tracks on the record. It starts out in a slow, alternative mode that reminds me a little of maybe a lighter Soundgarden number. If his name wasn’t on the record, I wouldn’t be able to tell you the singer was Belladonna. It sounds nothing like him, a deeper, more serious voice. From there, the song moves into a more commercial hard rock sound, and it has a great chorus. It shouldn’t work, but I really like it

Not everything is great. “I’m Alive” opens with some clean sweep chords and builds nice and slowly with a good marching riff, but it’s spoiled by kind of a boring verse and a poppy chorus. Outside of the guitar work, it’s one of the weaker songs on the record. Likewise, “Judas Priest,” one of the songs I was looking forward to just because of the name, is an up-and-down affair. There are some really good moments, but it seems to kind of get a little lost.

There are a few blasts of the band’s 1980s sound. “The Giant” is one of those few thrashers with a throwback to their old sound, but it features another one of those arena rock influenced choruses. “Revolution Screams” ends the album with a blast to the head. It’s probably the heaviest song on Worship Music, and one of the best. There’s thrash, there’s groove, there’s shred, there’s straight-up hard rock. The only negative is the hidden track at the end of it after several minutes of silence, which is kind of lame in this day and age.

There’s an interesting dynamic to Worship Music in that it’s a very angry record, but at the same time there are some very accessible melodies that border on commercial appeal interspersed throughout. This, it seems, is truly the third incarnation of Anthrax. There are elements of Belladonna’s first tenure, there are even more elements of the Bush years, and there are some new touches that draw on more recent musical influences. When it all comes together, though, it works. Worship Music manages what I thought might no longer be possible. It once again makes Anthrax and vibrant and viable metal act.

There’s a very heavy Judas Priest flavor early in the record, as you hear quickly on “Fields of Fire,” which finds Rivera nailing those Rob Halford shrieks on the chorus. That direction continues on second track “Lillith,” with Rivera delivering some nice vocal melodies and interludes. The Priest pops up again late in the record on “Eyes of Flame,” which features a nice riff early and Rivera in Halford mode for most of the song.

The next few songs take things back to a simpler heavy rock time. The title track opens with a 1970s hard rock flavor that shifts into early 1980s metal with a great chorus hook. “Ragnarock” opens with another grooving ‘70s-inspired lick. Rivera delivers some wicked vocals on the verse, and the band brings it home with another big chorus. Is there some cheese on these two tracks? You bet, but it’s still a lot of fun.

“End of Days” is the album’s “epic” track, checking in at just over nine minutes long. It opens with some nice clean guitar work from Frost, which leads into a classic traditional metal riff. The verse lopes along with Rivera trading vocals with an unnamed (at least in the information that I have with the promo) female vocalist. There’s a nice interplay between the two that I really like. The song does get into an almost painfully weird section about five minutes in where Rivera’s vocal melody and delivery are a little goofy, but putting that 30 or 40 seconds aside, it’s one of the better tracks on the record.

The star song of Call Upon the Wicked, though, is “Mind Games.” It opens with a ripping riff from Frost, quite possibly the best of the album. The song veers more toward thrash territory, with just a bit of Annihilator flavor. Rivera’s vocals steer more toward King Diamond here than the Halford he’s used through the rest of the album, and it’s a great song. “Harlot of Troy” follows up with more thrash flavor, and it’s good, but not quite as good as “Mind Games.”

The final new song on the record is a cover of Cream’s “White Room.” It’s more or less a faithful cover of the song, just crunched up, and I find Rivera’s over-the-top vocals a little distracting. As far as metal covers of “White Room” go, I much prefer Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kursch’s version with Demons & Wizards.

The album ends on a strange note, with live versions of “Metal Tyrant,” “Metal Asylum” and “Jacob” that sound more like a bootleg than a professional recording. They really don’t add anything to the record.

Frost is, as usual, on top of his game. He delivers some solid riffs and shreds all over the place. Rivera’s performance here is uneven, sometimes pushing things a little too much instead of just singing the song. It’s not nearly up to par with what he did on Helstar’s Glory of Chaos earlier this year. Bassists largely go unnoticed, but Michael Lepond gets a shot in every now and then, and drummer Taz Marazz lays a solid base. Of course, the lineup of the band has already changed since the release of this album, with Rivera leaving and Alan Tecchio returning, and Paul Marciano replacing Marazz on the skins. Such is the way of the one-man-show acts like Frost’s, and it’s probably the reason that their catalogs are so inconsistent.

In the Seven Witches discography, Call Upon the Wicked ends up right in the middle of the pack. It’s a solid, enjoyable record for fans of traditional heavy metal, but there’s not much of a wow factor.

It’s been a turbulent year and a half since the release of Over the Top. Singer Wyatt Anderson left the band, then returned to record this album, then left the band again. Guitarist Erik Kluiber is also out. The lineup for this record included founder/bassist Jon Leon, Anderson, drummer Giovanni Durst and producer Ralph Patlan.

In some ways, Flying Tigers shows maturation and growth. The compositions here are a little deeper in places than the ones on Over the Top. The influences still draw primarily from bands like Iron Maiden and Cloven Hoof. Leon is still working out his Steve Harris fetish, and his bass is even more up front and key to the sound on this record. But in the songwriting process, he forgot a few things, and they were key elements in the success of Over the Top – big hooks and fun.

You can hear the effort put into the compositions on this record, and that’s not a good thing. The old familiar flow of songs like “40 Deuces,” “High Roller” and “Iron Goddess of Vengeance,” which immediately hit me on Over the Top, is missing here. Most of the songs feel forced to me. I don’t know if it was because of the up and down year or tensions within the band or what, but there’s something that seems just a little bit uncomfortable in the songs on this record – and not in a good way.

There’s some good material sprinkled throughout. “Starchild,” which I believe is the band’s first ballad, is really good. The dark, clean opening puts me in mind of a slow Dio song, and the heavier bits reinforce that. Another slower track, “Starman’s Son,” comes closest to matching the strength of Over the Top. The ballady verse is probably the tastiest bit of music on the record, and the soaring chorus, while not fantastic, at least doesn’t detract from the song. And there’s an uptempo section near the middle that’s really good, and some excellent acoustic guitar work. It’s easily the best offering on the record. Opening song “Fight to Death” is also a winner and about the only song that sounds like it might have come from the Over the Top writing sessions.

“War of the Worlds” has a strong verse, but it’s still missing that thing that makes you want to come back. “Blood on the Pyramid” has one of the best riffs, but when it goes for an exotic feel, it sounds kind of stiff and sputtering, not as smooth as that mood needs to be. The 9-plus minute “Demons and Diamonds” has its moments, as well. The intro, another slow and dark piece, is great. But when the pace picks up, the sound is almost a little cartoonish. It’s a problem that a lot of the songs on the album have. They mimic Maiden and Cloven Hoof almost to the point of caricature. They don’t flow, and there’s very little natural energy.

White Wizzard never quite puts it together on this one. They offer flashes. “Night Train to Tokyo” has one of the most memorable melodies on the record, but it doesn’t have a lot of sticking power. “Fall of Atlantis” has a nice chorus, a bit reminiscent of modern Lillian Axe, but pales in comparison with pretty much anything from their last record. Too many of the songs here seem to be built as showpieces for Leon’s bass, and, as impressive as his work is, it gets a little tiring as the record goes on.

After one listen to Over the Top, there were several songs that I couldn’t get out of my head. After a few weeks with Flying Tigers, I’m hard-pressed to remember any of the songs, and that’s the major difference. There’s nothing on Flying Tigers that reaches out and grabs the listener, and at the end of the day, it’s a decent collection of throwback traditional metal that, unlike its predecessor, I won’t remember a thing about a year from now. It’s a disappointing effort from a band with tons of promise. Here’s hoping they get things stabilized and back on track for the next one.

I admit the move left me puzzled. It’s a tried and true recipe for failure. Usually a failing band slaps the title of its most popular work on its latest album and puts a “2” behind it to draw some interest from fans who have wandered away. It’s never a good idea because it creates a certain expectation that the new record can never match. In fact, most of them suck.

Of course, there are a few differences between most bands and Alice Cooper. First and foremost, Alice Cooper has never really faltered. Sure, he’s had a few off records, but for the most part, he’s never completely disappointed. That doesn’t change here. Secondly, he’s Alice fucking Cooper. He can do whatever the hell he wants … and make it work. Or, in the case of Welcome 2 My Nightmare, turn it into a moment of mad genius.

You often hear bands describe their latest effort as “(insert most popular record here) updated for the 21st century,” or something to that effect. In the case of Welcome 2 My Nightmare, that statement is actually pretty accurate. It’s been more than 35 years since the original Welcome to My Nightmare hit the scene, and this record is truly like a modern version of that one. The music here is all over the map. There are dark, classical-tinged Halloween-style numbers, there are all-out garage rockers, there are poppy ballads, there’s a Vaudeville piece, a surf-rock song, there are even a couple of country songs and a rap song – all, of course, with Alice’s signature sense of black humor stamped across them. It’s what every good Alice Cooper record should be – a three-ring circus with Alice as the evil, yet likeable ringmaster.

For an album promised to be a worse nightmare than the original, things start strangely. After a horror movie-worthy piano piece, opener “I Am Made of You” is actually kind of a heartfelt ballad with some poppy vocal effects here and there. It’s like the sweet part of the dream before things go horribly wrong. Things start to go a little darker with the high-energy rocker “Caffeine,” one of the more memorable tracks, as our main character fights sleep, and it overcomes him on track 3, “The Nightmare Returns.” A wicked nursery rhyme melody gives way to a darker classical piano and some Savatage or Trans-Siberian Orchestra-like flourishes. It’s brief but powerful.

Like most of his works since the 1980s, there’s also a large list of guest stars. Some you’d expect – Alice’s disciple Rob Zombie, Zombie’s guitarist John 5, and former Cooper bass player Kip Winger. Others are a little surprising, particularly pop singer Ke$ha and country singer Vince Gill.

Gill makes his first appearance on the fourth track, “A Runaway Train,” another of the album’s best moments. It’s a driving country-tinged trip on the rails to hell, and the country star gives a chicken-pickin’ shred lesson on the guitar solos. He appears again toward the end of the record on “I Gotta Get Outta Here,” a great track that blends country with some Tom Petty-like sounds. It makes call backs to all of the previous songs on the record and gives Gill a chance for a more soulful, sincere solo – well, as sincere as anything on this manic masterpiece gets.

Some of the brightest moments come on the offbeat numbers. The Vaudevillian thumper “Last Man on Earth” is absolutely one of the best songs on the record despite having no real rock elements at all. You can almost visualize Alice in his top hat and ragged tails addressing a crowd of rubes from the back of a wagon as he delivers the tune.

Other forays into stranger musical stylings have mixed results. “Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever” shouldn’t work at all. It is, as the title suggest, a disco tune that features Alice rapping. It ends up being a lot of fun though, in a Weird Al‘s evil twin sort of way. The surf rocker “Ghouls Gone Wild” is the album’s weak spot, getting kind of annoying after a few listens, though I admit it could just be my dislike of surf rock. Somewhere in between is the synth-pop “What Baby Wants,” featuring Ke$ha. I disliked it the first few times through, but it’s grown on me. If not for the slasher movie imagery in the lyrics, it wouldn’t be out of place on some cheesy 1980s soundtrack. It’s not even close to being one of the better tracks, but I like it more every time I hear it.

Of course, there is more typical Alice Cooper fare to be found here. The lead single “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” is an old-school rock ‘n’ roll number with a big, memorable hook that’s a lot of fun. “Something to Remember Me By” is the record’s answer to “Only Women Bleed.” It’s not bad, but not likely to become the classic the song from the first record is. Then there’s the flashy showman number, “The Congregation,” where we’re introduced to the hierarchy of hell. It’s a great song with a mix of darkness and humor.

The only truly disturbing moment on the record is the story of a real-life monster, “When Hell Comes Home.” It’s an alternately heavy and creepy piece that focuses on an abusive father from the viewpoint of his child. It’s particularly chilling when you realize it’s something that happens everyday in the real world.

There is, appropriately, a little history on Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Three of the 13 tracks on the album – “A Runaway Train,” “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” and “When Hell Comes Home” – feature guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith, members of the original Alice Cooper band. Their appearance is somewhat ironic since Welcome to My Nightmare was considered Alice’s first “solo” record without those former members of his band. Themes from the original album also run through this one, most notably the intro to “Welcome to My Nightmare” echoed in the intro to “The Congregation,” and the instrumental album closer “The Underture,” which blends themes from both records together.

More than anything, what makes Welcome 2 My Nightmare so great, though, is that it’s obvious to the listener that Alice is having a blast on the record – and his long-time fans are all in on the joke. If you’re looking for a full-on heavy rock album along the lines of Brutal Planet or Along Came a Spider, you’ll be disappointed. But fans of Cooper’s classic 1970s work should be thrilled and excited by the return of the twisted ringmaster who commands the ability to take such disparate elements and blend them into a cohesive, rocking unit. Welcome 2 My Nightmare is an amazing record and the rare sequel that’s absolutely worthy of the name on the cover, which just goes to show that no matter how bad most sequels are, every now and then, you get an “Empire Strikes Back.”

The new tracks are the title track, “Ten Years,” and “When We Fly.” Of the two, I prefer the title track, which is more of a straightforward traditional metal song with a chugging power riff from Matt Johnsen and some great, aggressive vocals from Tim Aymar. “When We Fly” is a great track in its own right, though, leaning more toward the power metal side of the band’s spectrum. It’s a bit more complex than “Ten Years,” with Aymar soaring a little more and an occasional heavier break showcasing Johnsen and drummer Chris Black. Hell, on second thought, I’m not sure I prefer either of the new tracks over the other. They’re both awesome.

Next up is the first of two covers, New Model Army’s “White Light.” This one, obviously, is a little different from the usual Pharaoh fare. It’s a little more subtle, using some synths and allowing Aymar to show a really different side of his voice. Johnsen lays down some smooth leads, and bassist Chris Kerns gets to show off here and there. It’s a bit of a surprise, but a good one.

Next up are the two previously released tunes, both of which are from a single that came with the vinyl release of Be Gone. “Reflection and the Inevitable Future” is the stronger of the two, a heavier number with some sharp riffing from Johnsen. “Nothing I Can Say” gives Kerns another chance to shine early on, but it’s Aymar’s song as he moans, wails and screams his way through the progressive-tinged tune.

Finally, the EP is closed out in ass-kicking fashion with a pretty straight cover of Slayer’s “Tormenter.” Some of Johnsen’s guitar sounds perhaps give the more noodly riffs a bit more of an Iron Maiden feel than the original, and Aymar obviously has a wider range than Tom Araya, which he puts to use, though not too much.

All in all, Ten Years is a tasty little treat that will surely whet fans’ appetites for the band’s next full-length effort.

This is the second record with guitarist Andreas Kisser now, more or less, fully in control of the band’s sound, but if you’re expecting the future direction of the band to be established here, you shouldn’t. Instead, Kairos leads us on a trip back through time to various eras of the band from the chugging thrash of the Arise/Chaos A.D. era to the hardcore influence of the first couple of Derrick Green outings, to the more concepty stuff they’ve done with their last albums. Perhaps it’s an intentional move, given that the theme of this record is something about the passage of time, but you’ll find a song or two that represents almost all of the band’s various incarnations.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some good material to be found here. “Spectrum” starts the record off with a cool, if somewhat repetitive guitar riff, some tribal-influenced work from drummer Jean Dolabella and a spoken growl from Green. It then quickly settles into a plodding number that will certainly remind listeners of the Max Cavalera era of the band. Second track, “Kairos,” continues in that vein, with a very Chaos A.D. feel.

The pace picks up a little with “Relentless,” but the opening will surely conjure thoughts of “Refuse/Resist” in fans’ mind. It has a little more energy and personality than the first two tracks, though, with Green stretching out of the Cavalera bark a little more. “Dialog” gives us another one of those plodding repetitive guitar riffs to start, but becomes every so slightly more adventurous with some slower interludes and spoken word from Green. I’m not sure I like the song overall, but I do think it’s one of Green’s better performances.

“Mask” and “Seethe” dive right back into the early thrash sound, sounding like something straight off Arise. They are among the more entertaining tracks on the record. “Born Strong,” a combination of the earlier and more recent sounds, is a thoroughly enjoyable number, though, probably my favorite on the record. “Embrace the Storm” has a catchy guitar riff – and almost a Machine Head feel on the chorus, but Green’s verse vocals send it into a bit of a lull.

Toward the end, we get a little taste of something different with “Structure Violence (Azzes).” It features the Roots-style tribal percussion blended with some industrial noises and sound bytes. The vocal on the chorus is very reminiscent of Ministry. I won’t say it’s the best song here, but it’s certainly the most interesting, and the only flash of something a little out of the ordinary that we get.

There’s also a strange cover here in Ministry’s “Just One Fix.” It’s essentially a note-for-note remake of the original without much of the band’s own personality injected. Of course, the argument could be made from listening to Kairos that this is a band that doesn’t know exactly what its personality is. Instead of forging ahead with something different, Sepultura, at least on this record, seems to be content with repeating sounds from its past. Kairos is, at times, entertaining, but the overall feel is a little flat, and there’s not an energy here that excites me. Like those last few records, I doubt it will have much staying power. More likely, it will soon have me reaching for Arise or Chaos A.D.

Artizan’s music should be built around the guitar of Shamus McConney and the drums of Ty Tammeus. They’re the two elements that really stand out in the sound on just about every track. McConney’s riffs are often gnarly and heavier than the songs end up being, and Tammeus pounds the drums at times with a vengeance. When they’re paired up, without vocals, the album is pretty interesting. Tom Braden, while a good singer, comes from the power metal mode, and the vocals are often just a little too smooth and clean for the music. I think most of the songs call for a little more grit and energy than Braden delivers.

That said, Curse of the Artizan is still an interesting record. It’s often quite catchy, and delivers a nice mix of sounds within the melodic metal range. The opening guitar riff and drum smacks of “Trade the World,” for example, evoke early Metallica, and you’ll hear that again in other songs throughout the record. The song turns into a more traditional metal lope, while the vocals owe more to power metal. It’s a little flat on the chorus, but still a good song. McConney delivers a nice meaty riff on “Rise,” that’s a little darker and meaner than the rest, and the album closing title track will bring more recent Iron Maiden to mind with its quiet, dramatic opening, galloping shifts and quiet interludes. It offers more opportunities for McConney and Tammeus to shine.

There are moments that suit Braden a little better. “Fire” opens with an acoustic piece before picking up the energy. It’s reminiscent on the verse, at times, of Dream Theater, and the vocals work better in that context. There’s more nice riffing on the tune, but that’s a constant throughout. “Game within a Game” is one of the more interesting tracks on the record, and possibly the best. The band really explores its progressive side a little more on the tune. Bassist Jonathan Jennings Jr. gets his moment early on, and the style, which is a bit different from everything else on the record, is really a sound that works for Braden.

Ultimately, I remain torn on Curse of the Artizan. As much as I like “Game within a Game,” which is the most consistent track, I really like the music from the more traditional, old school numbers much better. It just doesn’t quite all come together on those songs, though. I like the record, but it’s not always enough to hit all the right notes. I really need a little more grit, power and feeling.

My first impression wasn’t the best, either. When the techno-dance beat at the beginning of the opening title track kicked in, I thought perhaps taking this record on was a really bad idea. But by the end of the second track, “At the Gates,” the band had won me over, primarily with the catchy chorus groove of that song.

At heart, Benedictum is a traditional metal act, and they’re at their best in that realm. The verse of “Prodigal Son” has a nice dramatic feel, with perhaps a little bit of Dio-era Black Sabbath to it and an occasional flurry of faster licks. The chorus leaves something to be desired, but it’s still a solid song. “Dark Heart,” which follows a soulful and all-too-brief instrumental, “Beautiful Pain,” also has one of those big, memorable melodies. Guitarist Pete Wells also showcases his shredding skills on the two tracks.

When they venture out of that comfort zone and go for a more modern approach, as on “Grind It,” the results are mixed. There’s some nice bass work on the track by Chris Shrum, and even a couple of death growls, but I don’t find myself coming back to it as often as some of the other tracks.

On the other hand, “Bang,” a 1980s-style hard rock anthem is fantastic fun. It takes me back a lot of years, and though it’s just a little hokey with its “headbangers against the world” fists and finger in the air bit, I keep listening to it over and over. That chorus hook is absolutely infectious and begs for high volume.

The vocal delivery of Veronica Freeman is one of the more interesting parts of the record. Often, it seems, that she’s trying very hard to sing like a man. For the most part, I guess, I like that. I get really tired of all of the soprano female metal vocalists who don’t have enough grit for the music. Freeman doesn’t have that problem, though she also occasionally overdoes it the other way, pushing almost to the point of caricature. Quieter moments, like the verse of “Seer” or the ballad “Sanctuary,” offer some of her best moments. The vocals there are quiet and understated and leave me wishing she’d use that feminine side of her voice just a little more. I wouldn’t want her to completely to go that way, but for occasional use, it’s sometimes better than when she’s trying to push her vocals out there and be all bad ass.

I’m actually fairly impressed with my first taste of Benedictum. Dominion is a well put-together, catchy collection of traditional metal, and while there’s nothing jaw-dropping on it, there’s nothing that I dislike, either. I’ll definitely be checking out their previous two records.

I’m not excited about it, and I’m not raving about it. I’m not telling you to run right out and get it now because these guys are the real deal. I’m saying it’s not bad. It’s probably 10 years behind the times, but it’s not bad.

What Free Reign delivers on their debut is a competently played blend of metalcore and commercial hard rock, with some aspirations to progressive in places. At its heavier and better moments, the band reminds me a little of Diecast or God Forbid. On the rest, they tread Disturbed/Godsmack territory. Guitarist Justin Chapman, who is the only non-football player in the band, brings a little musical respectability to the table in his lead licks, and it’s felt almost immediately on album opener “All in Vain,” where his chops prop up a mediocre song.

“Bleed From Me” opens in that metalcore mode that the band really should stay in. When they drop down into the more melodic sounds after the opening, things settle into a lull until the heavier sound returns. Vocalist Marc Colombo’s voice tends to fall flat here and there on the more melodic moments, while the shouts are much better. There are some attempts in the chorus of “Bleed From Me,” and other places, to move into the arena of some of Soilwork’s more melodic stuff. Colombo even seems to affect a little bit of an accent here and there, which is kind of strange since he’s from Boston (and it’s not a Boston accent).

Still, there are some enjoyable moments. The grooving opening of “Ruins” is nice, and while Colombo is shouting and growling, the song is quite likeable. The clean guitar at the beginning of “In Your Head” is also a nice touch, followed up by a galloping Metallica-influenced riff.

There’s some awful stuff, too. The rap-rock “Rise Up,” which seems to have been intended as a stadium anthem, just doesn’t work. There’s a little bit of Sevendust here and there, but not nearly enough. Closing semi-ballad “Last Goodbye II” suffers from a problem that’s prevalent throughout – that it’s just too melodramatic and caught up in itself.

Your tolerance for Free Reign will probably depend on your tolerance for the more commercial end of the hard rock spectrum and whether or not you got completely sick of the metalcore scene years ago. It’s not a great record and is not destined to become part of my permanent collection, but at the same time, it’s more tolerable than much of the stuff that I get from “real” musicians every day. And, hey, I guess they need something to do during the lockout.

If you didn’t like the first two Alestorm records, they won’t win you over with this one. The theme is the same, the sound is more or less the same, and the silliness is still in full effect. If, like me, you loved the first two records, then album number three will definitely be to your liking as well.

The tone of the album is established right away in the title track, which envisions a battle between pirates and Vikings with the aid of a time portal. The song also announces the arrival of new drummer Peter Alcorn, who, quite literally, blasts out of the gate with some pummeling skin work while guitarist Dani Evans throws down some blazing sweeps over it. The heavier guitar tone and drum sound is immediately noticeable throughout this track and gives the music a little more seriousness than on the last two albums, but the quirky pirate movie folk themes and lyrical content keep it fun.

First single “Shipwrecked” is a thrasher in the vein of some of the heavier work from their first two records with a wickedly addictive hook on the chorus. Again, Alcorn’s drumming is a noticeable addition. There’s more serious musicianship on display on “Death Throes of the Terrorsquid.” The longest track on the record, it goes for more of an epic approach, and while there are definitely some really nice musical touches, I have to admit that I prefer the shorter, catchier pieces.

Along those lines, as silly as it is, my favorite driving home from work song has become their version of “You Are a Pirate,” a song from the Icelandic kids’ television show “Lazy Town.” Having a child and the opportunity to have numerous songs from kids’ television shows stuck in my head over the years, I’ve always thought someone could make a mint recording metal versions of those insidious melodies. This song reinforces that belief. Yes, it’s goofy and silly, but it’s also the catchiest, most fun minute and a half on the record. It makes me want to grab one of my son’s plastic pirate swords and dance around with it – and believe me that’s a difficult feeling for music to evoke in me (and an even more difficult image to deal with for any poor soul that actually witnessed it. Therapy might be needed. So far, I’ve been able to restrain myself, much to the relief of my family.)

“You Are a Pirate,” though, perfectly encapsulates what initially drew me to Alestorm, and why I still love what they do. The band is, in many ways, very serious about their music, but at the same time, they want to entertain. They want their listeners to sing along with big grins on their faces. Sure, there’s fun to be found in metal still, but so often musicians and fans are obsessed with darker images, anger and aggression. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s part of what drew most of us to the music in the first place. But every now and then, I think metal needs a good “yar har, fiddle-de-dee,” and that’s where bands like Alestorm come in.

Fun is a key element on most of the songs. “Scraping the Barrel” is a somewhat self-deprecating sea shanty that addresses the band’s critics and comparisons to German power metal outfit Running Wild, which also released quite a bit of pirate-themed material, though it was less over the top than Alestorm. It’s also a quite catchy little ditty. “Rum” gives the band an excuse to riff and yell “RUM! RUM! RUM! YAR!” Not that that’s a bad thing. “I Am a Cider Drinker,” a cover of a song by the folk band The Wurzels, has a definite flavor of their Scottish home with a pumping accordion and a lot of just plain goofiness.

There are a few tracks here, to be honest, that I’m not wild about. “Buckfast Powersmash” starts as a full-on thrasher and then moves back and forth between that and the folk sound. I don’t think it makes the transition quite as well as some similar songs they’ve done in the past. I also still have mixed feelings about “Barrett’s Privateers,” though it grows on me with each listen. My first reaction was the same as “Flower of Scotland” from the band’s first record. It’s a rough, pirate sing-along – perhaps too rough. But the more you listen, the more the melody infects you.

The music has improved over the course of three albums. The addition of Alcorn has a big impact, and Evans lays down some of his heaviest riffs throughout the record. The voice of Christopher Bowes, though, is still what makes the band. He has occasionally been criticized for not being a great vocalist, and he’s not. But he’s great for Alestorm. I can’t think of a more piratey sounding voice in music, and it’s part of what makes the humor in the songs go over so well.

There is a segment of metal fans out there that tends to be uber-serious and bristles at the notion of any light-heartedness in the music. This isn’t for them. For the rest of us, who like to have a drink, sing along and laugh occasionally with our metal, it’s perfect. I can’t think of a better way to sum this record up than by returning to my favorite tune from it: “Yo ho, ahoy and avast/ being a pirate is really bad ass/ hang the black flag at the end of the mast/ you are a pirate.” Now, excuse me for a moment while I go replace the wife’s hummingbird flag in the front yard with a Jolly Roger. I promise I’ll leave the plastic sword inside.

I’ll say off the top that I happen to be a big fan of Reroute to Remain, which, I realize, automatically invalidates my opinion among a segment of In Flames fans. So, hardcore In Flames fans look away while I don my flame retardant suit and wade in.

I like Sounds of a Playground Fading. And I like it for a lot of the same reasons that I liked Reroute to Remain. First off, it’s a very melodic record, and I tend to lean toward the more melodic end of the metal spectrum. There’s a certain, almost progressive element to the music here that I really like. Second track “Deliver Us,” for example, is certainly a more accessible song than anything from their early work. It’s not a bashing, in-your-face screamer, but there’s still a lot going on, and it’s a quite memorable piece.

There are also some great grooves on this record. The riff in “All For Me” right before the verse is absolutely undeniable. I don’t know how anyone could keep from bobbing their head to the opening of “Where Dead Ships Dwell.” The electronics get away from them in places in that one, and the chorus could use a little more beef, but it’s still entertaining. Yes, I realize that most In Flames fans are not looking for grooves, but they’re here, and they’re good.

The record is not a complete departure for the band. There’s plenty we’ve heard before on their last few records, and much of their body of work since Reroute to Remain has been leading up to this one. The hard rock and progressive influenced “Fear is the Weakness” could have appeared on any of those releases. While it sounds like a song you’ve heard from In Flames before, it’s also still catchy as hell.

To me, some of the least interesting pieces on the record are when the band tries to dig into its melodeath past. A song like “The Puzzle” is OK, and there is a nice little groove riff in there, but it tries too hard to walk in both worlds and doesn’t succeed in either. It’s not really delivered with enough conviction to act as a bone thrown to fans of the band’s heavier stuff, and seems kind of out of place on this record. Likewise, “Enter Tragedy,” opens with a pretty good grooving riff and has a decent melodic chorus, but it seems to kind of get lost in the verses a bit. It’s angry there, but not angry enough.

One of the more interesting pieces to me is the trippy and dark “The Attic.” There’s a strange Pink Floyd thing going on there, and while it’s not exactly catchy like some of the other songs, there’s something in it that keeps bringing me back.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s some utter crap here. “Jester’s Door,” a title which is obviously going to make fans think of the band’s earlier work, is a short, spoken vocal piece with a dance-like groove fading out at the end. It’s not the worst song here, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The worst would be album-closing ballad “Liberation,” which had even me asking what the hell they were thinking. It’s a full-on pop song with few metal elements. It’s not a very good song at all, and definitely not the last impression that I’d want to leave on an album that’s already going to alienate some fans. Though, I guess you could argue that their last few albums have already done that job.

Sounds of a Playground Fading faces a few challenges with fans of the band’s past work, not the least of which is the departure of founding member Jesper Stromblad. By now, though, I think most fans have come to grips with the fact that In Flames will continue to push forward with a more melodic and accessible style, and they’ve either accepted that and adapted with the band or moved on to something that’s more their taste. If you’re one of those who has adapted, you’ll likely enjoy this one quite a bit. It has more depth and heft than A Sense of Purpose, and I think it’s probably their strongest work since Reroute to Remain.

Yeah, I know for some that’s not high praise. And for those who have moved on, well, it’s probably  best that you keep moving.

The 2011 lineup of the band is completely different from the 2005 version, which also featured a couple of other Overkill members. Linsk is the only remaining member from that roster, joined here by vocalist Bob Barnak, former Ripping Corpse bassist Dave Bizzigotti and former Sindrome drummer Tony Ochoa.

I went into the record expecting it to have a definite Overkill flavor, and there are moments of that in songs like “Breeding Hate” or “Written in Blood” which wouldn’t be at all out of place on a release by Linsk’s other band, musically at least (Barnak’s hardcore roars are another matter). But the record is more raw and aggressive than Overkill, with some elements of hardcore and an overall more modern thrash sound.

The record blasts out of the gate with opener “No Remorse,” one of the heaviest tracks here. Barnak gives the song a harder edge with his hardcore vocal delivery, and the song pounds the listener over the head. The other fast numbers on Out for Blood are a mixed bag. “Brotherhood of Arms” is unrelenting, but lacks much of interest to hook the record. The death metal influenced album closer “The Cleansing” begins with a barrage of blast beats from Ochoa and distorted snarls from Barnak that are kind of plain, but recovers with a memorable chorus.

The more interesting pieces on the record, though are the mid-tempo tunes. “Behind the Mask” has more of a slow slab guitar riff and feels more retro than anything else on the record. “Mark of Judas” has one of the more interesting guitar riffs on Out for Blood, and will likely remind listeners of Lamb of God’s more recent work, as will “Deceiver.”

Like most of the members of the current thrash movement, Speed\Kill/Hate doesn’t really break any new ground. They take the base of Overkill’s East Coast style, smear a little hardcore rage on top of it, and turn out a pretty tasty chunk of thrash. It’s not likely to join the pantheon of my favorite thrash albums like the last offering from Linsk’s main band, Ironbound, but I’ll definitely be returning to it quite a bit in the coming months.

Growing up in a rural area long before the Internet showed up in every household giving people access to music from around the world, I was a latecomer to Destruction. I was already familiar with their fellow countrymen Kreator and Sodom when I discovered them, but for some reason Destruction spoke to me more than those other two bands. I’ll admit I’m still not the biggest fan of the German thrash scene, but when the mood strikes me, I’ll probably be reaching for Destruction. And their latest, Day of Reckoning, is just as good an option as any from their catalog.

The first thing you’ll notice about this record is that it sounds really, really good. The production is as sharp as a scalpel, and the songs themselves are like the crazy, wild-eyed guy in the doctor’s scrubs staggering toward you waving it.

Despite the immediate speed and aggression of “The Price,” it’s the second track, “Hate is My Fuel” that makes the first impact with a huge, memorable chorus. That plays nicely into “Armagedoonizer,” which takes a slightly different approach in the guitar riff, calling on just a little traditional metal. That’s reinforced in the chorus with its harmonized vocals that are reminiscent of Judas Priest. It’s a little strange at first, but grows on you after a few listens.

There are some pretty standard German thrash numbers scattered throughout the record that are perhaps a little too familiar, but most of the songs bring at least a little something different and recognizable to the table.

One of the most interesting and one of my favorites is “Devil’s Advocate,” which brings just a little bit of swing with the guitars of Mike Sifringer and new drummer Vaaver. “Sorceror of Black Magic” gives vocalist Schmier’s bass a little bit of a spotlight and features a more traditional metal feel early on the verses. When it moves into thrash territory, it becomes less interesting, though Sifringer does deliver some nice licks on the chorus. The harmonic guitar riffing on “The Demon is God” is cool and something a little different, and “Church of Disgust,” which features more great riffing, is one of the more memorable numbers despite it’s predictable religious themes.

Lyrically, the album is perhaps a bit lacking in places, but given the conviction and aggression it’s delivered with, I can overlook that. Day of Reckoning is relentless from beginning to end, and while most fans will probably argue Destruction’s earlier work was better, this is one hell of a thrash record.