Eclectic Vibes

Mose Giganticus - Gift Horse

How does music sound large? Or huge? These intense hard rock architects have sculpted a magnificent debut that is modern, powerful, groovy, expansive and generally kicks a lot of ass! Amorphis meets the Melvins.

Formosa Triangle - Formosa Triangle

They may have taken their name from an area located about 100 miles south of Tokyo, Japan, which has had mysterious ship losses, but the tight and heavy groove-metal that flourishes in the continuum established between the two lone members of this Chicago powerhouse may propel them further than the Pacific Ocean.

Muderdolls - Women and Children Last

After a long eight year hiatus, Slipknot’s Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13 bring us another load of crass, vulgar, and pissed off metal. Although heavy, the sound here harkens more to the days of glam, sleaze, and alcohol drenched fret boards. As a bonus, two tracks feature guest guitarist Mick Mars of Motley Crue.

Titans Eve - The Divine Equal

I love thrash metal as much as anyone, but this throwback thrash quartet brings back all the things I don’t love about the music. Starting with the poor cover art, it continues with the cheesy logo and predictable song names. This group has cookie cutter repeat written all over them. I’m sure they worked hard on this, but to no avail, as I have seen and heard this hundreds and hundreds of times before.

Scythia - ….Of War

Do you like your metal folky? How about with a dash of violin or keyboards? Maybe some gothic overtones? This adventurous and progressive Canadian outfit enjoys galloping metal grooves along side classically constructed folk passages to arrive at a well sculpted destination. The songs are all available at their site on a ‘“pay what you want”’ basis, so everybody wins.

Titan - Sweet Dreams

Keyboards unabashedly take the forefront of this psychedelic prog-metal experience. Expanses of whirling grooves hook the listener with a demanding intensity that is unfurled with each breathtaking riff and blast.

Atrocity - After The Storm

One of my long time favorite experi-“metal” bands, this German group has explored many facets of musical and cultural heritage over the years. Their exploration continues by refining their folk fancies, expanding on their impressive song structure, and again including the amazing vocals of Yasmin (frontman Alexander Krull’s sister). Powerful, invigorating, and unique.

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Touted as ‘Europe’s best musical secret’ due to limited distribution, Freak Kitchen has just had their back-catalog released and this one from 2009 is the first in line. The progressive power trio consists of three renowned virtuoso musicians - Mattias “IA” Eklundh (guitar/vocals), Christer Ortefors (bass), and Bjorn Fryklund (drums). When these hard-working musicians are not performing in a band, they are out teaching clinics. The music contains creative progressive rock elements with a healthy dose of Frank Zappa influenced humor plus musical shenanigans and acrobatics galore.

Prong - Carved Into Stone

When bands create seminal music in a given genre, what do they do in the years and releases that follow? Prong guitarist Tommy Victor took time off to play with Danzig and Ministry before revisiting his roots and getting revitalized enough to assemble and pen a contemporary sonic barrage under his old moniker that is ready to flood your senses with signature riffs and aggressive themes. The Prong sound is back and ready to exceed the neck- and finger-snapping experiences of the past.

Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death

Wisconsin grown - gurgling, growling, gnarly thrash metal with ridiculous and blistering solos plus breakneck rhythms a la early Slayer, which is appropriate for this 1988 thrash vinyl reissue. Although production values weren’t what they are now, the spirit, energy and vitality of the time soars through every note!

Mörglbl - Brutal_Romance

With a name like this, you may expect punishing death metal, but this is not that. Instead, this French instrumental trio blends a progressive energetic jazzy element with their hard rock and technical metal to create a tantalizing full flavored offering. Additionally, band members Christophe Godin (guitars), Ivan Rougny (bass), and Aurelian Ouzoulias (drums) are each also valued clinicians when not busy crushing and destroying the world as Mörglbl.

Baroness - Yellow & Green

This release has all the trappings of being a landmark, breakthrough album. It debuted at #30 on Billboard’s top 200 and sold over 12,500 records in its first week, making it the highest debut in Relapse Records history. Baroness really show off their vocal prowess and musical composition skills, here. Each song is masterfully crafted to compliment their progressive hard and heavy rock innovations. Bravo!

View More

Viewing Page 9 - of 11

‹ First  < 7 8 9 10 11 > 

Contact Maximum Ink music magazine

• Contact: Webmaster(at)maximumink.com
• (608) 245-0781
• No Longer Accepting Unsolicited Packages
  Please email Webmaster or call for more info