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tthe wicked world of stormspell |
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 5
Shroud Eater, From Exile, Portall, Al-Thawra, etc...
GOLD by JUSTIN GODFREY
From The Abominable Iron Sloth.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 4
Inswarm, Batillus, Final Redemption, Dirt Worshipper & More.
LIVING THE DREAM
by Jucifer's Gazelle Amber Valentine.
AGONIA RECORDS
Impiety, Aosoth, Temple of Baal, Inferno & More.
NOTES FROM NYC'S SCENE
By Flourishing's Garett Bussanick.
IT'S A 7 INCH EXTRAVAGANZA 2
Sons of Tonatiuh, Nazi Dust, Fetus Eaters, Lighthouse Project & More.
EXCERPT #1 "THE GREASE"
From a Book by Jucifer's Gazelle Amber Valentine.
THE GOOD THE BAD THE UNSIGNED 3
Of Legend, No Pity, Isthmus, El Supremo & More.
A JOYFUL NIGHT WITH THE MORIBUND CULT 2
Merrimack, Hiems, Dodsferd, Canis Dirus & More.
TALES FROM THE CUTOUT BIN XIV
Undercroft, Rademassaker, Bitch & More.
METAL REISSUES GALORE XVI
Arckanum, Realm, Brutality, Amen & More.
MILLIONS
Chicago Scene Report.
A JOYFUL NIGHT WITH
THE MORIBUND CULT
Dodsferd, I Shalt Become, Horna, Azaghal, Necronoclast & More.
TALES FROM THE
CUTOUT BIN XI
The Hidden Hand, Wurdulak, Gobblehoof, Insult II Injury, Master & More. |
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THE WICKED WORLD OF STORMSPELL |
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Stormspell Records is an amazing label working out of San Jose, California. Their operations are divided into three divisions; Days of Yore (releasing cult 80's re-releases), Dark Lore (releasing current bands) and Silken Spell (dedicated to hard rock and adult oriented rock releases). The label consciously stays away from more extreme forms like black and death metal but their current roster offers such quality and such variety of sounds that I am in awe of some of their releases. Read on and spread the word...
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Nitefall’s guitarist vocalist Mike “Ace The Raven” Kotarski had a funky haircut, it actually recalls the short Kate Gosselin-like hairdo of Poison’s Rikki Rocket, but don’t hold that against him. The sound of his band is pure. It is true. And It can’t be denied. Ohio’s Nitefall (a band that came from the ashes of Severe Warning), had an authentic heavy doom metal sound that deserves to be heard. Even if it is almost twenty years after they broke up, Nitefall are a band that will appeal to the pure heavy metal enthusiast, it will pull the willy of anyone with a sick fascination for Gates of Slumber and the likes. I am saddened to report that during their existence Nitefall never got beyond the unsigned phase, recording three demos, all of which have been remastered and compiled for this release titled Red Moon Rising. Starting with the four tracks from the Black Tomorrow demo from 1990 and extending all the way to 1992’s Journey Into Terror (in which they sound like a slowed down Forbidden) one can notice that this was a band of consummated musicians. Kotarski especially, pulls much of the weight, displaying flashy axe skills (great riffs and almost spectacular solos) and vocals that straddle that thin line between ‘ok, let’s tone it down a bit’ and ‘alright, Halford!’. Totally underrated and sadly overlooked. If they had only been signed at the time, who knows what they would have become.
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Novoy Zavet was a Russian doom band that existed between 1989 and sometime in the mid 90’s. Its moniker translates to New Testament and their classic adherence to the doom subgenre of the strictest kind grants the typicality of the moniker. Apocalypse, their third and last record, was originally released by Moroz records in 1994 and it features a sound that doesn’t quite gel, nor it goes anywhere. It is a tricky thing with bands that claim to play ‘epic doom’ as most sre fronted by vocalists who fail to live up to expectations. In the case of Novoy Zavet’s Slava Gorbachev he carries the melodies with the grace of a tone deaf Robert Lowe, he sings with the passion of a soulless schmuck and the skills of a rotten Layne Staley. For reals, Gorby sounds so out of tune the listener might just want to be impaled instead. It doesn’t stop there. The songs are utterly simplistic. The arrangements lack grace and imagination and the result is as dull and boring as the entire discography of Andy Gibb. This is one painful and unfortunate doom record.
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Old metal people who were scouring the bottoms and young old school fanatics who are not solely into the hip may remember the 80’s metal band Sentinel Beast whose 1986 Roadrunner debut Depths of Death is a minor classic that was unfortunately never followed up. (Anyone in search of a great 80’s metal tune must listen to the song “Dogs of War”) I am not sure why Sentinel Beast broke, perhaps it was related to the desertion of a member for greener pastures (if you could call the Flotsan & Jetsam camp to be greener, that is), but Fischel’s Beast is a worthy continuation. This Brooklyn based band is the project of SB’s guitarist Barry Fischel, who is an absolute monster in the instrument and who has worked alongside three other fellows what is Commencement, a six-track album made of songs that were written for a sophomore Sentinel Beast record. The material balances an aggressive mix of power metal and thrash metal. In other words, the music has the melodic gallop of thrash and the vocals have the clean intonation of power metal. MySpace
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I didn’t even have to look up the precedence of Narval. As soon as I heard the vocals I knew this had to be a Puerto Rican band. Not that the birthplace of salsa music has enough native bands to cultivate its own metal sound, but those pipes, those almost majestic Manowar-ish and unintentionally belly-tickling pipes, could only belong to Erico “La Bestia”, who some may remember for his work on Dantesco. I read somewhere that at one point in time La Bestia was in line to take over the mike in Candlemass. If you don’t know who La Bestia is, then that should tell you something about how he sounds like. Unlike Dantesco, who cultivate a classic doom sound, Narval is more of a classic heavy metal band with all the ostentatious arrangements to cover the same epic fields of bands like, well Manowar and all the likes who sing about Conan, honor and shit like that. The difference being that musically, Narval is a rathar conservative band, fostering a very simple and melodic approach to mid tempo heavy metal. Here the guitar work shines, it is nuanced and fine, and so is the keyboard work, which gives Narval a style that’s closer to the 70’s concept of what heavy metal was like. It may be difficult for some to take La Bestia’s vocals seriously. For me, the biggest issue was the drum sound, which fucking sucks. MySpace |
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They hail from San Antonio, Texas and they’ve had enough nachos to feed a battalion of Mexicans trying to regain the territory back to la nacion. Hijole mis cuates, I thought this was going to suck just because Ancient Cross has that middle age bar band look that’s come into its own way past their prime. Also, because the bass player sports a hideous Ted Nugent t-shirt and I fucking hate Ted Nugent. Make no mistake though, Ancient Cross are a pretty good heavy metal band (or a power metal band on the queso) and in this self-titled debut they show off their songwriting abilities by crafting a classic sound that lies somewhere in between King Diamond and Hammerfall. The vocalist is named Michael Lance and he was once a member of Reverend, the post Metal Church band of David Wayne. Lance’s vocals are less strident than Wayne’s but have the same range and tone, which means that he sings with his balls more than with his god-given talent. That’s why I am not so bothered by the power metal overtones of Ancient Cross. What’s best about them are the guitars though. Solid riffs, excellent solos. MySpace |
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The cover artwork on some of these Stormspell releases is so awesome you may just think that’s the only factor that comes into play when the label signs a band. But you would stop thinking that after you look at the covers of both of Target’s full-length’s Mission Executed (Aaarrg, 1987) and Master Project Genesis (Aaarrg, 1988). It’s almost like the dude that used to draw covers for Fates Warning had a bad day. But fear not metalheads, especially if you dig 80’s thrash, because this Belgian band kicks all sorts of ass; fat, skinny, squared, rounded, triangular and else. Stormspell has compiled both recordings and has added their 1986 demo, which like many demos offers nothing worth listening. This compilation is great not only because it is every completist’s wet dream but because Target could really write tunes. The label calls them ‘techno-thrash masters’, I agree with the ‘masters’ partly because the musicianship and the songwriting here is high-quality, but the techno part discouraged me. When I read the phrase techno thrashers I instantly think of two bands, Toxik and Watchtower and Target sounds like neither. Unlike most technical bands, Target placed emphasis in the song instead of in technique and whatever other complication they could add, and that’s why Target records were so good. They are free of all juxtapositions and other excesses. Mission Executed is a damn near flawless melodic thrash metal album. Really, 80’s. Really typical and really fucking good. Some of the songs sound like a more melodic Forbidden. Master Project Genesis is just as solid but more streamlined. In this sophomore and last release Target pushed itself musically and the result shows. The songs are more jagged and aggressive but they flow. The riffs are more incisive but catchy. Great band. Great unearthing. MySpace |
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Many bands singing in their native languages (other than English) are quickly dismissed by english-speaking metalheads, which is absurd considering that most of today metal bands have vocalists that growl unintelligibly anyway. As a result many of the world’s greatest metal bands go unnoticed. Now, I don’t know if I would say that Midnight Priest ranks among the best the world has to offer in regards to traditional metal, but truth be told, they are a damn good band. Midnight Priest hails from Coimbra, Portugal and they are fairly new to the scene, forming only in 2008. Rainha Da Magia Negra is their first official release following a highly lauded 2009 demo titled The Priest is Back and it shows a quartet highly influenced by the traditional heavy metal sounds of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Both of these bands have gifted vocalists, right? Well, Midnight Priest’s The Priest doesn’t have the same range nor reach, but he carries proudly without pushing his vocals to the point of ridicule. The music is stellar, wonderful dual guitar lines at the best NWOBHM style and plenty of full-throttle melodies. Pay attention to the cover artwork. It is the coolest piece I have seen in a long time. MySpace
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