Air Raid - traditional heavy metal from Sweden

Air Raid

Fatal Encounter

High Roller Records

February 24th, 2023

Air Raid is a Swedish band playing classic-style traditional heavy metal from top to bottom. It takes almost no time to catch on to what they are doing. It’s that immediate. Perhaps one of the central reasons why the album gets on so well so quickly is the quality of the sound. The ears can tell. The band, according to Metal Archives, has been active since 2009 and this is their fourth album. It is eight songs and one interlude in 37 minutes. It is mostly uptempo rockers and some midtempo anthems. Out of the eight songs, two are covers that very few of us here in the U.S. would know: “See the Light” by a super obscure 80s Swedish demo band called Trazy, for which Metal Archives shows only a two-song demo from 1989 and “Pegasus Fantasy” (1986) by the Japanese 80s band Make-Up, whose said song was famous for its association with the anime series Saint Seiya. Fatal Encounter is a lot of fun and definitely a rocking album. The results suggests that the band has worked hard at making music that devoted fans of the genre will appreciate and notice the quality of it. The songwriting is memorable, the traditional singing sounds good and the overall melodies work very well. No complaints. Very enjoyable.

https://www.facebook.com/AirRaidOfficial/

Air Raid - Fatal Encounter (2023)

Holy Moses - Invisible Queen (official music video from German thrashers)

Below is the recent video for the title track for the new album Invisible Queen by long-running German thrash band Holy Moses (1980-1994, 2000-present). The new album comes out on April 14th, 2023. Below the new video you will find the previous album Redefined Mayhem (2014) from Bandcamp. Then, below that album there are some other videos, just in case that you are not familiar with the band.

HOLY MOSES - Invisible Queen (official music video)

Redefined Mayhem by Holy Moses

HOLY MOSES - Nothing For My Mum live @ Chronical Moshers Open Air 2022

Holy Moses - World Chaos (Live @ Wacken 2003)

Holy Moses - Near Dark (1989)

Holy Moses - Panic

https://www.facebook.com/official.holy.moses

Dreams of Gray - The World After (lyric video)

Earlier today the melodic death metal project Dreams of Gray (Chicago, U.S.) published on YouTube a lyric video for the song "The World After."

Dreams Of Gray The World After

Chicago’s newest export is a three-song recording by vocalist/guitarist Luis Rivera, from the long-running band Abolisher. Some fans in the Chicagoland area may be acquainted with Abolisher from their gigs and their 2001 recording Lament the Season, which I enjoy coming back to from time to time. Word has it that Abolisher has been rehearsing again. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on that front. On the other hand, Dreams of Gray is already up and running. The vocals are growled for the most part, tending to go for a lower, brutal-tone style while retaining some intelligibility. It’s necessary to say “for the most part,” because there are melodic vocals in some spots, generally done in a supporting role to the growling, but sometimes the melodic vocals come up to the front alone or it might be a line/verse of melodic vocals. Musically, one can detect the thrash foundation of the guitar, tuned down a bit, for that headbanging style of melodic death metal. There are some cool moments of melodic riffing and hooks, and some nifty guitar soloing. Furthermore, some signs point to a desire to expand, like on the slower moments in the third song “The World After,” a track that follows its own path, going towards melancholy, a different side of the project’s sound. Besides Rivera on guitars and vocals, this recording features Phil DiCiccio on drums and Marcin Palider (Poland) on bass, while Maria Kosma (U.K.) took care of the bass on the song “Life in Gray.” Lastly, the lyrics are of a personal nature and open to interpretation, done in an intelligent way. Listeners will tell that grief and loss, as well as deception, play an important part in the perspectives on here. Overall, fans of classic-style melodic death metal might be pleasantly surprised by the quality of this entity’s contemporary interpretation of the genre.

The World After by Dreams of Gray

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090219272895

Conspirasy - songs meant to sound like 1980s Bathory

Conspirasy itself states that the music is "Black metal for fans of Bathory. From Stockholm." Fans of 1980s black metal in general should be smiling and banging their heads when they hear this recording. If Quorthon were to hear these songs, he would say, "Did I write these songs? I don't remember the titles of these songs." The vocals are prototypical black metal and the music sounds primal, like a demo. Compared to 1980s thrash, the sound of this recording would be more line with 1982-1983 American thrash and 1984 German thrash, especially the demos from bands like Tormentor/Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom. Conspirasy has thrash riffs and some Manowar riffs, just like 1980s Bathory did. The objective of this Bathory tribute band is to write songs that sound like siblings to Bathory's songs, exactly like Conspirasy itself states. Expect the sound of one person programming the drumming and ripping out the riffs and screams in the endeavor to get all the Bathory out of his system.

Those Whom The Gods Would Destroy by conspirasy

Unchained Horizon - melodic heavy metal from Germany

Unchained Horizon

Fallen Kingdom

Pure Steel Records

September 30th, 2022

I have tried to give a chance to their previous recordings, which includes several EPs and an album, but Unchained Horizon (Germany) has not been that interesting to me. They sounded like a local bar band (and I do not mean it as an insult because bar bands is virtually 99.99% of all the shows I attend) doing a pretty good job, but the songwriting was lacking. I would not recommend the band's previous recordings.

I think that it is also important to be patient. Bands can also improve and get better as they get more experience. I think this album is where Unchained Horizon now begins to be more interesting. They sound more professional: the songwriting is better, the melodies stand out more, and the singing sounds solid. Whatever garage, punk or core tendencies they had before have largely disappeared. Now they sound like a more mature melodic traditional heavy metal band. After having heard the album a bunch of times, I still enjoy it. I think that this is a good new fresh beginning for them. Let's see where they take their music from here.

Fallen Kingdom by UNCHAINED HORIZON

https://www.facebook.com/UnchainedHorizon

Riot City - high flying speeding heavy metal from Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The air raid siren known as Riot City excels at ideal classic speeding heavy metal, flying as close to perfection as possible in the genre. The songs are nothing but enticing invitations to bang your head. With eight songs in 45 minutes, even the duration is right. The guitar tone, riffs, melodies and solos are all aiming for classic. Speed and melodies are the twin strentghs of the band, and the singing. Oh, boy! If you get the chance to see this band live you should make the effort just to hear for yourself how they do compared to the recording. Of course, this particular type of singing is rather demanding, given the quality and intensity of attempting to deliver singing perfection, an impossibility in the live setting. Still, the recording deserves the attention of the discerning audiences appreciative of skilled musicianship and quality singing. Awesome.

Electric Elite by Riot City

https://www.facebook.com/RIOTCITYOFFICIAL

HolyName - the sound of holy drone heaviness

HolyName's self-titled album presents an interesting mix of the heaviness of contemporary American groove, closer to deathcore/djent than anything, with growling. That's not the "interesting" part. The interesting part is the melodic singing. Such singing is certainly not usual in deathcore or any core, for that matter, and it is also not usual in any form of metal music, either. I am speculating here because I have not read any interviews with this band: Given that "The new album is essentially a love letter to Christ and a tribute to the history of eastern orthodoxy," is it possible that the melodic singing has taken inspiration from traditional hymns in what people call "chant" like one finds in some Catholic and Eastern Orthodox "chant" hymns?

I don't know. Maybe?

Anyway, I could be wrong. Be that as it may. It is very likely that you have not heard "deathcore" like this before. Here are a couple of songs from the album.

HolyName

HolyName

Facedown Records

13 January 2023

Meet Me Somewhere Quiet

HolyName "Fall On Your Knees" Ft. Brook Reeves

HolyName "Creed" (REV Gang) Ft. Eric from xDeathstarx

https://www.facebook.com/holynamewxrship

melodic death metal band Demon Hunter tour in April 2023

Demon Hunter (2000-present), the long-running melodic death metal band from the state of Washington, U.S. will be embarking on a U.S. tour in April 2023. Featuring songs from their eleven albums, see the picture below for the tour dates. Below is also their 2022 album Exile. The band has been active for a long time and is not limited to a particular genre, although for a long time now their main sound is melodic death metal, although at the very beginning the U.S. metalcore influence was more pronounced when they had less experience. On Exile listeners will detect more sounds than just melodic death metal; it is the sound of a band comfortable with their identity and feeling free to use memorability and hooks, and plenty of melodic singing, for their songwriting and the spirituality-based lyrics.

EXILE by Demon Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/demonhunter

RivetSkull - Washington State traditional heavy metal based on classic rock

Washington State's RivetSkull in 2022 revamped their 2020 album with some other songs and changed the name slightly to Trail of Souls: Samsara. They play classic-rock heavy metal with foundations in the 1970s and 1980s. Listening to this album the feeling is not too different from listening to latter-day Iron Maiden or Deep Purple: midpaced songs focused more on melody and mood than speed. Quality is more important than anything else. Anyway, there is one thing that certain people might not know but that Washington State bands like RivetSkull (and Metal Church) have tried to educate us about: Aerosmith. Basically, anyone that grew up in the 1980s (and after) whenever they think of Aerosmith they think of a bunch of American rock music buffoonery with some stupid, stupid and often sappy songs. However, in the 1970s there was a time when Aerosmith played good hard rock, the heavy metal of the 1970s. This idea has almost been completely lost. RivetSkull and Metal Church are aware of this and have sought to tell heavy metal audiences to look into early Aerosmith. Metal Church has covered the song "Toys in the Attic" and RivetSkull here covers "Kings and Queens." Essentially, RivetSkull and Metal Church are telling people to look into the first five Aerosmith albums. For example, the original "Kings and Queens" sounds like classic rock 1970s heavy metal with a bit of an epic feel, for that time. There is a reason why RivetSkull has covered the song: Aerosmith is dismissed by serious heavy metal fans as a joke/stupid band with nothing to offer. Really, who can blame the fans for thinking this way? For 40 years Aerosmith has been a joke. Well, in the 1970s that band was different.

RivetSkull says that they are "bringing the past into the future" with their traditional heavy metal. Listen to the album and hear how they go about it. Of course, you'll want to hear the Aerosmith cover. By the way, another band that has covered Aerosmith is Testament. No surprise, they covered a 1970s song, too.

Trail of Souls : Samsara by RivetSkull

https://www.facebook.com/RivetSkull/

Aerosmith - Kings And Queens

Pier Gonella - guitarist extraordinaire new album coming in 2023

The Italian guitarist workaholic is at again. Besides his work with Athlantis, Mastercastle, Necrodeath, Odyssea, Perseo Miranda, Vanexa, Verde Lauro, Wild Steel, Amazing Maze, Bellathrix, Labÿrinth and Synthphonia Suprema, he has a band under his own name Pier Gonella. In April 24th, 2023 they will have a new instrumental album called 667 with nine tracks. This follow up the 2020 album Strategy. The band is Peso (Necrodeath) on drums and Giulio Belzer on bass.

Check out what Wikipedia shows about Pier: "Pier Gonella began playing guitar at the age of 15, following his passion for such bands as Scorpions and Deep Purple. From 1993 to 1997 he studied jazz guitar in many Italian schools. He could not finding any rock guitar teachers, so he studied rock guitar by himself. In particular he studied scores of many of his guitar heroes such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Vinnie Moore, Joey Tafolla and many others. He studied music theory and, in June 1998, received the diploma of "Teoria and Solfeggio" at the Conservatory of Music 'Nicolo' Paganini' of Genoa. He also enrolled and studied 4 years of basson."

Wikipedia has more information. Anyway, listen to this song from the previous album. Here is a photo of the discography listed on Wikipedia.

Pier Gonella - Strategy - Official Videoclip

Pier Gonella "Strategy" by Diamonds Prod

https://www.facebook.com/piergonella

www.piergonella.com

Squirrel Hands - fellas, I like the sound, but I gotta have some cowbell

Squirrel Hands is a Washington State non-experimental, non-prankster metal band. With a name like that, you might expect something unusual or ridiculous. Actually, it's just good ole American groove for jamming and nodding your head while you drink a few cold ones on a Tuesday night at the local bar watching this hairy-and-smelly-winning-American-groove machine. They probably like Black Label Society and Pantera and that type of American sound. You see? Squirrel Hands does not sound like Primus nor Faith No More nor Insane Clown Posse nor banjo New Orleans possum blue grass jazz. It's groove metal for the groove-loving Americans, and man, these American people here in the U.S. they surely love their groove metal, don't they?! Say it, baby, say it: Squirrel Hands! Bruce Dickinson, yes, the Bruce Dickinson would enjoy producing this band, too, but I think that he might want to hear some cowbell. Gotta have some cowbell, baby. Bruce Dickinson has a fever for Squirrel Hands and the only prescription is more cowbell.

Emperor by Squirrel Hands

https://www.facebook.com/squirrelhands/

Encountered - - trippy doom hazy heavy, oh forget it, I give up, this is messed up Washington/Oregon stuff

Encountered is a Washington State and Oregon State alien doom worship slugfest of grooves with screams and samples. The vocals might make you think of black metal, and the guitar would make the hippies reminisce about Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Mountain and all those sounds of old bluesy groove heaviness. Isn't there a series on television about alien visitors from millenia ago? I think that Encountered could be, like, the theme music for that show and all those shows about aliens from outer space. This band might also really like ghosts. I do not know for sure, but it seems like they might like aliens and ghosts. Oh, and swamps, too. They might enjoy the idea of alien ghost swamp doom and that's what they do. They're crazy and that's what crazy alien ghost swamp loving doomsters do; they do stuff just like this. Man, things are getting weird around Oregon and Washington. It's must be the lack of sun. Makes people crazy. Please help.

Materials by Encountered

Mors Navis - robotic metal from the long time past of the old extinct future

Metal Archives shows this entity as a Washington State band playing a type of black and power metal hybrid. On Facebook they say about themselves: "A metal fueled Space Opera of epic proportions. Board the ship or get left behind." On Metal Archives the personnel is listed as: Aaron Weed (bass, keys, synth, trombone, vocals, orchestra); Jason Roberts (drums; Phobia, ex-Aghori, ex-Burning Leather, ex-Fall of the Bastards, ex-Splatterhouse, ex-Night Nurse, ex-Askevault, ex-Vastation, ex-Lord Gore (live), ex-Menacer, ex-Dekapitator, ex-Terokal); and Zach Mech (guitars, vocals, keyboards). The sound is a rather harsh futuristic neosymphonic extreme metal with some melodic hints. Perhaps imagine Transformers playing neosymphonic extreme metal and that might give you an idea of what to expect. Yup, it's pretty weird but not to you because you live in the future with your robot army and downloaded memory living in the body of a cyborg. To you, this is what you call oldie rock and roll from the good ole days of your ancestors.

Incipit by Mors Navis

https://www.facebook.com/mors.navis/

Enemy Mine - traditional heavy metal in Washington State, U.S.

I do not remembering having heard this Washington State band before. Enemy Mine, according to Metal Archives, has an EP from 2019 and another one in 2021. They play traditional, no-keyboards heavy metal, the type that some German fans refer to "U.S. metal," meaning old-school, blue-collar, no-nonsense heavy metal. It's dive bar heavy metal for the fans that like to go the local bar and check out local metal bands rocking out in front of a home crowd just for the love of rock and roll. Check out their 2021 EP below.

I have other Washington State bands to tell you about. Maybe tomorrow.

Veni. Vidi. Vici. by Enemy Mine

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100029145647711

Limuria - progressive power metal in Washington State, U.S.

There are a bunch of Washington State, U.S. bands and projects that I have not told you about yet. This is one. I came across them on Metal Archives, but I do not know much about them. Metal Archives shows an album in 2021 and another one in 2022. The two members (Ralph Serrano and Eddie Serrano) apparently are also associated with other acts: Heaven on Fire, Ruido Instinto, and Tragic Prophecy. Anyway, check out this melodic project. The song below apparently features Stu Block (Into Eternity, The Midgard Project, Iced Earth, Omega Crom) on vocals.

The Scarlet Season by Limuria

https://www.facebook.com/limuriamusic/

Archmage - melodic power metal/instrumental melodic metal

Archmage

Kingdom of Light

January 28th, 2022

Archmage is a U.S. melodic project based in the states of New York and Washington consisting of Jesse Berlin from the Seattle area traditional heavies Greyhawk and New York-based Andrew von Gutfeld, who is credited with composing the songs. Archmage music works with the genres of power, neoclassical and melodic in general. Both Metal Archives and Bandcamp show three releases (a 2018 album, 2018 EP, and the 2022 album), but YouTube shows additional EPs and albums. In fact, I think that I count as many as nine additional EPs/albums, although I am unable to say how accurate that statement is because I only really know the three recordings on Bandcamp. However, I have been listening to the other recordings and I have been entertained by the new-to-me recordings that I have been hearing. The majority of Archmage music is instrumental. The main thing that I like about Archmage is the focus on songwriting. Melody is very important in the sound of this entity. One album of theirs that is not instrumental is 2022’s Kingdom of Light featuring Davide Spalla on vocals. As already mentioned, the overall appeal of the music is the sense of melody; sometimes it feels neoclassical, sometimes very power metal, at others shreddy, but within song structures, not just skills demonstration. However, with Davide Spalla on vocals the sound is that of traditional melodic songwriting. Undoubtedly more fans will like the music with singing than without, given that people prefer singing to instrumental music. Really, either way you can’t go wrong with Archmage if you want melody. Apparently, there is a whole lot more music available than shown by Metal Archives and Bandcamp.

Kingdom of Light by Archmage

https://www.youtube.com/@archmagepowermetal

Adam Bomb USA/EU Tour Dates 2023 (Seattle, Everett, Tacoma included)

Adam Bomb USA/EU Tour Dates 2023

"Adam Bomb was born sometime in 1963 and grew up in Seattle, where, in his early teenage years, he played guitar in a metal cover band called Tyrant. The band featured an equally peach-fuzzed Geoff Tate, future Queensryche front-falsetto, vox. Two years later, he joined legendary Seattle hard-rockers TKO. Adam Bomb signed to Geffen in 1984 and released Fatal Attraction a year later."

https://www.facebook.com/adambomb2020

https://adambomb.bandcamp.com

Adam Bomb - I Want My Heavy Metal (1985) From The Album Fatal Attraction

Tom Smith’s Bday Bash in Everett, Washington

Tom Smith’s Bday Bash!

Tom “Uncle Bud” has given to the local music scene for decades, so its time to give back to one of the most supportive people in the scene!

DOORS 7PM

MUSIC 8PM

Ripoff 8PM

Cryptamnesia 9PM

Deadbeat Blackout 10PM

The Wreck'd 11PM

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2023 AT 7 PM

Tom Smith’s Birthday Bash @ Tony Vs Garage | The Wreck'd, Deadbeat Blackout, Cryptamnesia & Ripoff Tony Vs Garage

https://www.facebook.com/events/1138394340130578

Orator - new EP by Washington state tech-death perpetrators

There is a new EP by Washington state, U.S. tech-death band Orator. The Burden of Existence is three songs in the warp speed dazzling style to induce hypnosis. One way to think of this music is that skilled guitar playing what listeners expect and that is what they are going to get. The growling vocals and blasting rolls everything up into a whirlwind of speed. Interestingly, there are some hints that they incorporating some slower segments (a pinch of melody!) for a varied listening experience while still keeping the music technical extreme metal.

The Burden of Existence by Orator

https://www.facebook.com/oratorseattle/

Enterprise Earth - The World Without Us (official video)

YouTube says that eight days ago the Washington state, U.S. band Enterprise Earth released a new video called "The World Without Us" from the 2022 album The Chosen. Wikipedia, for your information, describes this band as "deathcore." Is this song "deathcore"? Hear it for yourself and see if you agree. At any rate, the band has released four albums (2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022). On Facebook it says that they recently did a tour in Europe with 20 out of the 25 shows were sold out for them. At this point they say that they plan to work on their next album. Of course, if you like the song, visit their Facebook page for more news and information about this Washington band.

Enterprise Earth - The World Without Us (official video)

https://www.facebook.com/enterpriseearthband

Frozen Crown - Call Of The North (official video)

Italian power metal band Frozen Crown has a new video named "Call of the North." The song comes from the upcoming album Call of the North on March 10 on Scarlet Records. Below is their previous album called Winterbane from 2021.

FROZEN CROWN - Call Of The North (official video)

Call Of The North by Frozen Crown

Winterbane by Frozen Crown

https://www.facebook.com/frozencrownofficial

Eden Weint Im Grab "GeysterGaleere" (official video)

Here is a new video by the long-running gothic metal avantgardists Eden Weint Im Grab (Germany). On YouTube it says that the new album Apokalypse Galore will be out on March 24th, 2023. Below is their 2019 album Tragikomödien aus dem Mordarchiv if you would like to hear more.

Eden Weint Im Grab "GeysterGaleere" (Official Video)

Tragikom​ö​dien aus dem Mordarchiv by Eden Weint Im Grab

My Veins - thrash/core from Madagascar

Metal Archives shows only a 2019 EP called Terror Zone by My Veins (Madagascar; 2017 [as Guren], 2017-2019, 2020-present). I have not been able to locate the recording on Amazon Music nor Bandcamp nor iTunes, but maybe it is available on other music services that people use. However, the songs are available on YouTube (just type “My Veins Terror Zone”), which is where I have heard them. They sound like a young band playing the music that excites them, grooving metalcore/thrash/crossover with shouted vocals. I do not know if there is more recent music. They seem have a Facebook page, although it is a strange one because it seems to be more of a page for anime or video game fans, but they do have a video of the band in action, too. Let’s hope there is more music in the future and see what happens.

https://www.facebook.com/veins.metalband/

MY VEINS - KOZY | Official Audio Stream