The Silent Wedding – Ego Path Self-Released Release Date: 11/02/2022 Running Time:52:13 Review by Chris Galea 7.5/10
I discovered The Silent Wedding when the band accompanied Threshold in London. Back then, the band had just released their “Enigma Eternal” album. I don’t remember what I wrote when I reviewed that show, but I definitely recall being pleasantly surprised by the music of this Greek band.
Fast forward 4 years to the present and The Silent Wedding have just unveiled album number 3: “Ego Path”. If I had to compare this music with the output of other bands, Kamelot, Labyrinth and Blind Guardian would spring to mind. In other words the songs on “Ego Path” sound epic with ubiquitous keyboards. So far so good.
To my ears the songs sometimes cry out for more creativity and sharper musicianship. Dream Theater are certainly not going to lose any sleep over this band.
But “Ego Path” still manages to be enjoyable. A lot of that is due to the singing of Marios Karanastasis, who is gifted with a very powerful, and yet emotional voice – the melancholic ‘The Final Token’ is the perfect showcase of that. Other key points in the album are (hot on the trails of an instrumental intro), ‘Time Of Darkness’; a well-written song with catchy melodies, and ‘A Path To Nowhere’, which concludes “Ego Path”. This is also an instrumental, thereby giving the album a sense of structure. The composition contains some suggestive acoustic guitar arpeggios while keyboards hover around with ethereal sounds.
So despite being one notch short of greatness, “Ego Path” is a very good album that ought to put The Silent Wedding into the regular vocabulary of your average Power Prog Metal fan.
‘Caught In The Web’ Official Video:
TRACKLISTING: 01. The Eternal Enigma 02. Time of Darkness 03. The Sea of Fate 04. Caught in the Web 05. Reveal the Rain 06. Sinners in Disguise 07. Stealing the Sun 08. Point of No Return 09. The Final Token 10. Ethereal Walls 11. Song of the Dead 12. A Path to Nowhere
LINE-UP: Marios Karanastasis – vocals Jim Katsaros – guitars & Samples Johnny Thermos – keyboards & backing vocals George Kritharis – bass Renos Lialioutis – drums & percussion
LINKS:
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All Seeing Eyes – Reinventing Time Self-Released Release Date: 16/08/2021 Running Time: 52:02 Review by Beth Jones 6/10
All seeing eye are a Progressive/Power Metal duo from Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire right here in good old Blighty. We don’t get many Eurometal style bands coming out of our little island for some reason, I think possibly our failure to embrace the more flamboyant side of Metal in case we don’t look ‘cool’ enough. Well, personally, I’ve never been one for looking cool, so I love it when some homegrown metal like this lands in my review pile.
This is only the band’s second album, despite having existed for nearly a decade. A hiatus put things on hold, but, after their original keyboard player left, they decided to carry on as a duo.
So, to the album in hand. There’s a lot of influences in it, definitely – from Classic Heavy Metal, with Euro Power vocals, modern guitar crunch, and even some late 90’s Grunge. It’s certainly a unique plethora of sounds mixed together. It varies from track to track, too, keeping it interesting.
Musically, the songs are great, and there are some moments of brilliance, Ben Colton’s vocals and the guitar solos being prime examples. But I’m struggling with the overall mixing of the album. There are some issues here, that kind of spoil things for me. They’ve recorded it in their home studio, and mixed it themselves, which they deserve credit for…but then, due to the situation we have found ourselves in, so have a lot of bands over the last 20 months. I think the track, ‘Perspicacity’ is probably the most successful on the album because everything is at roughly the same level. It’s a decent song, too. Lots of different elements, from 70’s Progressive to Thrashier sections. However, in other tracks, it can sometimes be difficult to pick out the vocal line, the keyboards are too full on, or the snare sounds like a tin can. It’s a big shame.
The final track, ‘A Sequence Of History’, is pretty impressive at over 15 minutes in length, and doesn’t suffer from too many production issues. This starts quite Iron Maiden like, with pacey rhythms and guitars. It then alternates between this, and sweeping sections that feel more Euro Prog Power. It’s an epic song, and I can see it being spectacular live.
If you like Power or Prog there will definitely be something on “Reinventing Time” for you, but it hasn’t connected with me in the way I had hoped. I don’t like being negative because music is life. But, at the moment we are being spoilt with real quality, in terms of production, from so many bands, and that turns us into music snobs.
‘This Is Cypher World’ (Official Video)
TRACKLISTING: 01. Welcome To Cypher World 02. Proselytized 03. Love Is Illusion 04. The Gift Of Madness 05. Perspicacity 06. Ghosts Of Yesterday 07. Angel Fires 08. A Sequence Of History
LINE-UP: Ben Colton – Vocals/Lead Guitar Kenny Fraser – Lead Guitar/Bass
LINKS:
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Dark Arena – Worlds Of Horror Pure Steel Records Release Date: 27/08/2021 Running Time: 39:45 Review by Simon Black 6/10
When music like this hits my desk, it always brings something of a lump to my throat. Dark Arena have been around for a while in various guises and have staggered out a number of records to date. I say staggered because one is their original 2006 EP that was repackaged and expanded last year, another a compilation, making this effectively their fifth full length studio album. It’s also sadly their last, as string-virtuoso Paul Konjicija sadly passed away in 2019. This recording was made in 2018 and is effectively an epitaph to both him and the band.
Given that they did not have the luxury of being able to go back and post-produce and touch up in the standard way, I suspect that the mix we have here is fairly close to what was laid down in the studio. I come to this conclusion because the engineering jumps around a little and, overall, could do with a bit more depth of field being added to the mix, as vocals and instruments don’t always flow cohesively as a band. If the vocals were slightly further back in the mix this would have sounded perfect.
This is a minor issue though, because what stands out on this album first and foremost are Konjicija’s quite significant musical chops. He takes both bass and all guitar duties on the recordings and is an incredibly proficient player – whichever part or instrument that he is playing. The overall sound is the kind of USA sound that blends the technical proficiency of Progressive Metal with the attitude and structures common to Thrash. The tracks that work best are when they keep things short, sweet and Thrashy, with ‘Sacred Rite’standing out as the strongest song on here, not only from having the punchiest arrangement, but because is also makes the most effective use of Juan Ricardo’s vocal range. That said, like most work with a Progressive edge, it benefits from multiple listens that give the opportunity for the depth crafted into the arrangements to come to the fore. A fitting epitaph.
‘Dark Arena’ (Official Lyric Video)
TRACKLISTING: 01. Worlds Of Horror 02. Dark Arena 03. Annunaki Arise 04. Damnation Within 05. Bite The Bullet 06. Kill Procedure 07. Sacred Rite 08. Destiny Bridge 09. Abandoned
LINE-UP: Juan Ricardo – Vocals Paul Konjicija – Bass & Guitars Noah Buchanan – Drums & Keyboards
LINKS:
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Primitai – Violence Of The Skies ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records Release Date: 26/03/2021 Running Time: 64:15 Review by Beth Jones 9/10
Before I start to review Primitai’s new album, “Violence Of The Skies”, I have to offer the coveted and extra special (so special that no-one except me knows it exists, and it has no physical presence) award for the best website ever to have graced the internet. If you’re a Spectrum/C64 kid of the 80’s I implore you to check it out, and I promise that you will not be disappointed. Spectacular piece of marketing! I take all my hats off to whoever designed it.
Ok, now I’ve stopped playing on the Primitai website, I suppose I should get on with what I’m actually meant to be using this space for. Let’s have a chat about the album that goes along with this ingenious internet creation! This is a space themed concept album, telling a story about “escaping the end of the world, seeking new victories and facing unknown dangers.” And, aside from that, it’s solid Heavy damn Metal, which is why we’re all really here, right? We lust for new tunes to bang our heads to and get lost in, while the rest of the world tears itself apart. Well, this album can offer you that, for just over 64 minutes of your day at least.
Deep rooted in Classic Heavy Metal, but exploring things on the Power, and Progressive side as well, Primitai join a growing breed of ‘modern’ Classic Heavy Metallers, bringing back all the vim and vigour of the greats, in a more modern way. Powerful bass, intricate rhythms, and synth are the name of the game, along with the soaring harmonised vocals, epic solos, and the duelling guitar cadences that are so synonymous to Heavy Metal. It’s Maiden with modern, Priest with more power, and Queensrÿche with an extra ‘Je ne sais quoi’!
Every track is fast paced, and in your face, but each offer their own unique little twists, to create a full story (I particularly liked the little twiddle at the end of ‘Warriors Of Time’). ‘Innocent’ has a real chug to it, especially in the middle section, which helps express the exciting direction that this sound is taking, as well as exhibit a number of other styles from across the eras. The guitar sound here I find quite 90’s Grunge in a lot of places. There’s plenty of classic European Power Metal influences rammed into this rather tasty pick and mix, as well. One such example is ‘Put To The Sword’.
‘The Cold Surface Of The Moon’ starts off with solitary piano, with effects that make you feel that it’s echoing in the emptiness of space. This is a marked change from the tracks preceding it, but it pretty quickly ramps up into another roaring anthem. However, I would say that this is one of the most classic sounding tracks on the album, with a lot of 70’s prog vibes going on in it, too. I’m a sucker for the old sound, so I think this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. This feel also continues in the following track, ‘I’ll Live Again’. However, after starting with solitary guitar, here there’s more punch when everything kicks in, and we get one of those epic guitar solos I mentioned earlier.
All in all, this is an exciting and toe-tapping album. And I really only have one criticism, but it’s nothing to do with the band, or anything that could have been controlled, it’s more a general irk with the need for everything to be digital these days (when I were a lass, you were lucky if you had a cassette player that didn’t eat your tapes, and you always kept a pencil handy just in case). The files we get to review from are usually MP3s and they compress the shit out of everything. I’ve got pretty dodgy ears anyway, but add into that the hell of compression, and I find that the vocals become muddy. This irritates me immensely, because Guy Miller has a superb voice, and the vocals should be star of the show in this genre (shut your face guitarists – you get your chance in the solos, and I’m a vocalist, so I’m biased).
But that aside, cracking album. Listen to it, have a play on their website, and that will be an afternoon well spent.
TRACKLISTING: 01. Stars Are My Guide 02. The Uprising 03. The Violence Of The Skies 04. Valley Of Darkness 05. Warriors Of Time (feat. Vladimir Djedovic and Mladen Pecovic) 06. Innocent 07. Put To The Sword (feat. Paul Quinn) 08. The Cold Surface Of The Moon 09. I’ll Live Again 10. The Storm Kings (feat. Tom Draper) 11. The Huntress (CD Bonus Track) 12. Prophecies (CD Bonus Track)
LINE-UP: Guy Miller – Vocals Srdjan Bilic – Lead and Rhythm Guitars Scott Miller – Bass and Synth Arrangements Jonathan Warren – Drums Sergio “Cheko” Pedro Giron – Rhythm Guitar on ‘Innocent’/ co-Lead Guitar on ‘The Uprising’, ‘Innocent’, and ‘Stars Are My Guide’
Special Guests: Paul Quinn (Saxon) – Guitar Solo on ‘Put To The Sword’ Tom Draper (formerly of Primitai, Carcass, Pounder) – Guitar Solo on ‘The Storm Kings’ Mladen Pecovic – Guitar Solos 1 and 2 on ‘Warriors Of Time’ Vladimir Djedovic (The Tilt) – Synth Arrangement and Keyboard Solos on ‘Warriors Of Time’
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Jones and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Labÿrinth – Welcome To The Absurd Circus Frontiers Music srl Release Date: 22/01/2021 Running time: 60:17 Review by Chris Galea 8.5/10
Progressive Rock tends to be a strong part of the genetic identity of Italian bands in general and around the turn of the millennium Labÿrinth infused that approach with a Power Metal where the keyboards, guitars and the rhythm section are equally emphasised. Over the course of several albums the band tweaked with that formula to varying degrees but in their new album “Welcome To The Absurd Circus”, my impression is that Labÿrinth have gone stylistically close to “Return To Heaven Denied”, the band’s 1998 magnum opus.
There are several qualities that make “Welcome To The Absurd Circus” a Power Prog Metal gem. One of the first things to impress me, however, is the superlative quality of the sound, courtesy of Frontiers mainstay Simone Mularoni. But then, as the album hits its stride, other factors become apparent…
…the lead vocals, for example. After having fronted Labÿrinth for most of the band’s existence, Roberto Tiranti’s singing is still in solid form. Guitarists Olaf Thorsen and Andrea Cantarelli imbue the album with strong melodies, melancholic swoops and moments of sheer virtuosism. ‘Finally Free’ is a good place to find most of that.
Completing the line-up are keyboardist Oleg Smirnov (Death SS, Eldritch…now on his 3rd Labÿrinth album), Nik Mazzucconi on bass (who also plays with Joe Lynn Turner’s band Sunstorm) and newly recruited drummer Mat Peruzzi (who replaced John Macaluso just before Labyrinth started working on this album).
From songs such as ‘Live Today’ – driven by some furious double-bass drumming, to ‘A Reason to Survive’ – a power ballad which I really liked, “Welcome to the Absurd Circus” is a solid album. ‘Den of Snakes’ wouldn’t sound too inappropriate on an Iron Maiden album. ‘The Unexpected’ strikes me as a song that would fit snugly in live scenarios…once the ongoing pandemic loosens its grip on society.
Negative points? Well, I felt that the cover of Ultravox’ song ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’, while not badly done, was pointless. And if I were pushed further, I’d say I wasn’t excessively enthusiastic about the songwriting of ‘Sleepwalker’ and ‘One More Last Chance’, although the latter contains some great guitar solos.
But perhaps I’m being finicky because in truth I really enjoyed listening to this album very much. In fact, while some Labyrinth albums needed time to grow on me, “Welcome To The Absurd Circus” is one that I fell for immediately…from the very first spin. In fact, I dare say that no self-respecting Power Metal fan should be without this album.
‘The Absurd Circus’ (Official Video):
TRACKLISTING: 01. The Absurd Circus 02. Live Today 03. One More Last Chance 04. As Long As It Lasts 05. Den Of Snakes 06. Word’s Minefield 07. The Unexpected 08. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes 09. Sleepwalker 10. A Reason To Survive 11. Finally Free
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Chris Galea and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Immortal Guardian – Psychosomatic M-Theory Audio Release Date: 12/02/2021 Running Time: 52:06 Review by Simon Black 8/10
The sophomore album from this Power / Prog quartet is a very interesting beast. So many acts have been impacted by lockdown, but writing and producing an album when your singer is in Brazil, your guitarist / keyboardist is in Las Vegas, your bassist in Texas and you are still running in a new drummer who is up in Canada is no mean feat. …And just to make sure we get the point, there is a single available now all about it, called surprisingly ‘Lockdown’! Let’s think about the process behind creating that for a moment. Prog in particular is all about the ability of the instrumentalist to riff off of each other, to take that improvisation, capture it and structure it in a repeatable way whilst still sounding fresh each and every time it is played. “Psychosomatic” does this with considerable finesse.
Perhaps the most considerable musical Prog feat in here are Gabriel Guardian’s twin roles on guitar and keyboards. I wasn’t not sure how this would work in reality live, as last time I checked in order to shred your audience a new asshole with a guitar on stage, you needed to use both hands. A quick check on Youtube proved that this is in fact exactly what he is doing and it is little short of incredible to watch. Given that the interplay between keyboards and guitar is about continuous use of harmonies he mostly has to switch between the two, but most of these songs are pretty darn fast and that’s no mean feat to pull off onstage (particularly for the frenetic and quite sublime ‘Goodbye To Farewells’, where the kind of musical interplay you might expect from the likes of Dream Theater is on display). …And shred he does, and pretty damned well to boot, with tracks like ‘Phobia’ that would give the great Joe Satch a run for his money. I’m also going to call out Carlos Zema’s vocals, as the range this guy has on him is quite impressive. When clean, the notes are long, high and loud, there’s gutsy rough’n’ready, a bit of screaming and the odd death grunt in the mix, often scaling between these within the same song and somehow not sounding out of place.
What is refreshing about the Power Metal aspects of this album is that it does not fall into the bear trap of clichés that many European peers do of death by historical or mythically themed concept albums and a highly predictable song structure. Although there is a theme in here, as the band apparently completely scrapped the album they had already started writing in favour of this collection of songs about their experiences in the pandemic. That takes confidence and guts. However, each of the songs on here stands well on its own merits and whilst clearly having a house band sound, does this without sounding repetitive or formulaic. Each song has a clear and distinct song writing structure to it, new techniques, structures and effects creep in with each song but at the same time it’s clearly one album. I am tempted to adopt the moniker ‘Super Metal’ bestowed upon them by their fans just this once as they really are in a class of their own.
This may be their second professional release, but these guys were apparently quite prolific before being signed and the musicianship on here is absolutely top notch. Like most Prog artists they know how a good sound can be achieved technically, although apart from a few solo moments the keyboards do stand a bit further back in the mix, largely generating atmosphere rather than carrying the melody. It still is worth noting that as well as writing remotely, the band members all learned how to record remotely (no mean feat when they all have different digital workstations), producing a project that then gets sent to a Producer to mix down. It certainly does not sound like they were learning on this job. So, do yourself a favour and give this a spin, because it really is a magnificent achievement.
TRACKLISTING: 01. Psychosomatic 02. Read Between The Lines 03. Lockdown 04. Phobia 05. Clocks 06. Self-Isolation 07. Goodbye To Farewells 08. Candlelight 09. Find A Reason 10. New Day Rising
LINE-UP: Gabriel Guardian – Guitars/Keyboards Carlos Zema – Vocals Justin Piedimonte – Drums Joshua Lopez – Bass
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Amon Sethis – Part 0. The Queen With Golden Hair Self-Released Release Date: 12/12/2020 Running Time: 78:00 Review by Simon Black 6/10
This is the third album from Grenoble-based Progressive Power Metal quintet Amon Sethis, who once again deliver a concept album with a story taken from somewhere between the Sixth and Seventh Dynasties of Ancient Egypt and covering the life of Egypt’s first female Pharaoh. It’s all a bit vague factually, because the historical record is exceedingly patchy in this politically unstable period to put it mildly and so there’s plenty of scope for artistic interpretation, which is a positive boon for any band. What I am less sure about is whether the world really needs three conceptual albums from the same band with such a narrow historical focus (and with presumably more to come). I have not heard any of the other albums in the series (for which this seems to be a prequel based on the numbering), but I am guessing the Egyptian maqamat tonal form and iqa’at rhythmic mode are a constant throughout their work (that’s the distinctive Egyptian / Middle Eastern sound so abused by Hollywood for those that care). Power Metal concept albums are no stranger to this form and trope (to the point of cliché), but to take that structure into multiple albums without sounding staid takes a lot of work and in this instance throughout a full-length album without sounding the slightest bit tired or clichéd – well that’s quite an achievement.
Musically this is top notch stuff, with an incredibly tight instrumental team displaying no shortage of skill and virtuosity, overlaid by vocalist Julien Tournaud’s clear and crisp vocal delivery (although he’s not afraid to mix it up with some full on growling to keep the delivery flexible). There’s also some great female vocal parts in the mix that add to that epic ensemble effect. In fact, “epic” is probably the key word here and not just from that full on, almost Symphonic feel this album has running through its core, like a stick of Egyptian rock and wonderfully emphasised through a really rich production and sound engineering delivery.
At seventy-eight minutes of run time, brevity is not a factor in the mix here and is the big challenge that I have with this record, which is that much of this material is so very similar in tone and sound. This makes it a bit samey and repetitive, a situation that could have been avoided by trimming the material down to a punchier fifty minutes or so which would have prevented that feeling of repetition and made for a much tighter and more emphatic delivery. I find myself very torn on this review from being impressed with the musicianship and overall sound and being frustrated at the rambling nature of the material. I can’t help feeling that this is a band that you need to enjoy live, where they have to focus on winning an audience over with the tunes rather than getting pulled into a long rambling story. Nevertheless, musically this was very enjoyable, but desperately in need of some judicious editing.
TRACKLISTING: 01. The Legacy From The Past 02. Nitocris The Queen With Golden Hair 03. My Sister, My Love, My Pharaoh 04. The Conspiracy 05. The Secret Letter 06. The Rise Of Aoutef’s Army 07. Lost In The West 08. Desert Storm 09. Osiris God Of The Dead 10. Mask Of Wrath 11. By The Torture 12. Eternal Love 13. The Blood Red Temple 14. From Dust To The Stars
LINE-UP: Julien Tournoud – Lead And Backing Vocals Olivier Billoint – Lead And Rhythm Guitars Eliott Tordo – Keyboards Thierry Ventura – Bass Thierry Delvaux – Drums
LINKS:
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Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Grenoble, France based Power/Progressive Metal band, Amon Sethis. Huge thanks to them for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
The band is called AMON SETHIS, a French metal Band who plays power prog metal with oriental influences. The band was created in 2007 and we have 2 albums already. In December we released the third album which is called: “Part 0 – Nitocris The Queen With Golden Hair”.
All the albums are concept albums which tell stories about ancient Egypt during the 6th and 7th dynasties.
How did you come up with your band name?
The name AMON SETHIS has been created with the name of the two Egyptian Gods AMON and SETH. It’s the name of the main character of the two first albums. For the new album we have chosen to talk about the mother of the pharaoh AMON SETHIS, the Queen Nitocris.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
We come from the region of the Alps in France in Grenoble. The region is really active in metal because there are many international bands from that area such as NIGHTMARE, LONEWOLF, RISING STEEL etc…
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
Our latest release is the album “Part 0 – Nitocris The Queen With Golden Hair”. The album was released in December 2020. It’s the third album of the band.
For the promotion of that album, we have realized 2 videos clips: ‘The Blood Red Temple’ (November 2020) and ‘Desert Storm’ (December 2020).
‘The Blood Red Temple’ (Official Video)
‘Desert Storm’ (Official Video)
Who have been your greatest influences?
We love bands such as SYMPHONY X, EVERGREY, DREAM THEATER but each member has also many different influences who make the originality of the music of AMON SETHIS.
What first got you into music?
I think our music is a wise mix of Melodies, powerful riffs and huge cinematographic orchestrations. All these are sustained with a powerful rhythmic section with oriental fretless bass and energic drums.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
It would be so great to collaborate with some members of the band SYMPHONY X. It would be a great pleasure.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
As the band is French, it would be so great to play one time at Hellfest but it’s so difficult to be programming there. But it will be fantastic to play at Graspop festival, Wacken or Metal Days…I love that kind of festival.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
A bra during a concert! 😊 I didn’t think it would happen one day! 😊
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Don’t hesitate to listen to music during this evil period we live through. For that our music is a good invitation to escape from the real life. It’s a travel back through ancient Egypt, an incredible journey 😊.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Ronnie James Dio.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
To be on stage is the best thing. To express all the feelings that you translate in your music is exciting. Furthermore, the process to create songs is really good too, I love that kind of work: to do the best and to express the feelings in music and to write different stories. To sum up, I like every kind of work as musician.
I hate only the people that don’t pay you after your concert.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I will change the algorithm in order to have more visibility for our music!!!! 😊 It’s so hard to promote our music…damned!!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
SYMPHONY X – “Divine Wings Of Tragedy”
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
CD’s and Vinyl are the best. It’s real objects that you can collect and that’s so great. Downloads are good to promote your music but for my part it’s so virtual.
I like to open my CD or Vinyl, read the booklet and observe the artwork. I think is the best support for the musician.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Definitely It was in 2014 when we played at PPM Fest in Mons (Belgium) We played with bands like SAXON, RAGE, THERION, VANDEN PLAS, EVERGREY…etc …it was so great😊.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Maybe a Tennis coach! It’s my passion 😊.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Maybe, I would want to invite DEVIN TOWNSEND, one of my favourite artists 😉.
What’s next for the band?
The next step is to promote this album as much than we can and as long as the pandemic will endure…And then we can give a second “wave” of promotion to the album, making concerts…😊 I hope that we could make it as soon as possible.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Spread the words of AMON SETHIS in liking the Facebook page! We really had a good time to compose this great album “Part 0 – Nitocris The Queen With Golden Hair. I hope you will listen and love it! Keep safe during these bad times…
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Oracle Sun – Machine Man Volcano Records 18/12/2020 Running Time: 48:55 Review by Simon Black 7/10
Oracle Sun are a Progressive Power Metal six-piece hailing from Lucca in Tuscany, Italy. Despite having been formed way back in 2002, they have had a somewhat challenging history, with their first album being way back in 2005 (“Deep Inside”), a lengthy gap in any activity and then stuttering attempts to get back underway again. As well as being plagued by the usual line up challenges and disagreements, this was topped up by the tragic death of their guitarist Vic in 2017. Even so, fifteen years is a hell of a gap to bridge between your debut and your sophomore albums. This records though is very much an attempt at a clean reboot and although some of the material had its origins in previous line-ups, the whole thing has been refreshed with the addition of two new members and completely rearranged and re-recorded. The end result is a record that actually sounds like a fresh new young band trying to make a mark and that’s how I recommend that you approach it.
There’s a lovely rich sound here, and unusually for a Prog Metal outfit a twin guitar-based song structure, which adds a beautiful harmonic richness to the sound without bringing in excessive heaviness rhythmically – not that the rhythm section of the band isn’t doing a cracking job of this anyway. Vocalist Wild Steel (yes, really) takes a more Northern European singing style and veers away from the over-dramatic semi-operatic approach that you often find with Italian bands of this style, not that I doubt that his voice doesn’t possesses the range to do so if needed – it just doesn’t fit these particular songs. All this contributes to a band who are slightly more Power than Prog in tone, but with sufficient technical flourishes to lift this above the madding crowd. It’s melodic, it’s catchy, it’s got just enough technical whizz to go alongside the mid-tempo flow of the majority of the songs and to engage a more demanding audience, but is still sufficiently metal to get a crowd who doesn’t know their material going in a festival field. A really promising reboot.
TRACKLISTING: 01. Edge Of Life 02. Million To Ascension 03. Fallin’ Time 04. Machine Man 05. Sunset Feelings 06. Look Behind Me 07. Daydream 08. Calling 09. Coming Back
LINE-UP: Wild Steel – Voice Alessandro Cola – Bass Tommy Pellegrini – Guitar Giacomo Paradiso – Guitar Alessio Pascucci – Keyboard Frank Andiver – Drums
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Red Cain – Kindred: Act II Sliptrick Records Release Date: 22/01/2021 Running Time: 36:45 Review by Simon Black 8/10
As you would imagine from the title, this is the second part of an arc of albums, although it’s not clear if there are more to come and it follows on from 2019’s Act I. This one has apparently been in the bag for a while but like so much of life had been put on hold in the hope that we would be back to normal, whatever that may mean in 2021. The band however have made the wise decision to keep their profile alive and if they’re really wise (or physically able), they should follow up with a live stream of some sort. I think we’re going to be waiting a while to see them in the flesh otherwise and they need to build that profile off the back of this little cracker of an album.
Musically Red Cain are an interesting hybrid. Although hailing from Alberta (which if you didn’t know is bang in the middle of Canada), their frontman is of Russian extraction and brings a highly eclectic vocal approach to this Progressive Power Metal act. It‘s the same effect you have from Nightwish’s Floor Jansen, who is unafraid to throw curve balls with her voice box that lend that act the sense that there’s a veritable choir of voices tucked away there. This three piece are equally gifted with a front man who can run the gamut of belting rock’n’roll, crisp and unerringly precise falsetto, a quite low tenor, epically haunting wails, some downright spooky whispers, traditional screams, death grunts and almost everything in between.
Musically it’s just as much of a mixed bag, with a remarkable rich and deep sound for a three piece, which leads me to suspect that the touring version will need some more manpower to do that rich sound justice, given that there are keyboards and multiple guitar layers to play with here. For a Prog Metal album, it’s also surprisingly short and to the point, with an overall run time just over thirty-five minutes and nothing hitting the six-minute mark. But then why record more minutes when you have nothing to say? Personally I take this positively, as too many acts in the Progressive field take far too long to get to the point, and even those at the top of the field sometime need to be reminded that less is more (sit down Dream Theater, you’re drunk).
The album kicks off with a couple of brilliantly technical and melodic tracks – ‘Kindred’, is heavy and showcases the skillset these guys have at their disposal in true Progressive style. ‘Demons’ is a much more catchy hook-based track, although no less technically capable, but with catchy riffs, melodies and enough commercial bent to pull in a new listener – whilst still playing to that vocal ambidextrousness with a couple of lines that wouldn’t sound amiss on a Marilyn Manson album. And then the album switches style and becomes haunting, moody and totally surprising with the falsetto introduction to ‘Precipice Of Man’, which fools you into thinking it’s a power ballad before belting you around the head with one of the heaviest bass sounds I have heard in a while and a much more extreme vocal sound. These kind of body swerves just keep coming, and are what makes this album such a refreshing change.
Sometimes however, the experimentation does not hit the mark, with ‘Baltic Fleet’ being just that little too technically speculative to work. It’s the technically most demanding track, and has an epic feel and lyrical content, but the tempo of the beat contrasts a bit too much and loses cohesion. This band are good at sounding different whilst still being catchy, and this is where this track falls down. But this is the only negative I can find, as the rest of the album keeps the interest whilst still sounding eminently listenable to, and I am feeling positive enough about this to go back and give their back catalogue a whirl.
Interesting, technically challenging and nearly always on the nail.
TRACKLISTING: 01. Kindred 02. Demons 03. Precipice Of Man 04. Baltic Fleet 05. Varyag And The Shrike 06. Sons Of Veles 07. Sunshine (Blood Sun Empire)
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
