Trollheart

Title: Bloodmoon Rising – Night 4
Artiste: Steve Roach
Year 2015
Nationality: American
Familiarity: Noob
Genre: Ambient
104

Expectations: I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew here. Seems Bloodmoon Rising is a four-CD album, comprising Night 1-4. The one I have is Night 4 (which, for some reason, was sold separately) and seems to be all one track, as indeed are the other three. So, we may be in YorkeDaddy Heaven, but possibly difficult to review?

It's one track, so I'm obviously dispensing with the usual colour-coded track lists. This thing runs for over an hour, so it's not surprising that it comes up very slowly, darkly and kind of with an ominous feeling; we're two minutes in and nothing has really happened yet. Dark, droning synth and what could be muted percussion. Holy Lord above! EIGHT minutes in and it still hasn't changed! Mind you, there is time, but this is one slow buildup, if anything is coming out of it. And now it's twelve minutes old and still nothing new has happened. Oh! Twenty-three minutes in and now there's a spacy synthy sound growing, the music is getting louder though still relatively gentle, and there's a choral vocal of some sort coming into the mix. Taken a long time to get here though.

It's hard to even get a sense of being able to review this, as it's really, really, really ambient and kind of much of the same all the way through so far, as we come close to the halfway point. It's very spacey, very new-age and very atmospheric, but I'm finding it hard to break it down in any way. Good background music I'm sure, probably great to fall asleep to. Other than that, don't know at this point. Okay, well it's basically over now and all I can say is it was ethereal, ambient, soft and gentle, lulling, relaxing, dreamy but there's nothing specific I can pick out about it musically. Best I can say is that it gave me the feeling of floating weightless through the trackless boundless depths of space. And that can't be bad really can it?

Final result: Not a lot more to say really. I'd listen to it to relax to or go to sleep as I said, but it's like an organic, slowly growing and evolving entity that just kind of ... keeps going without terribly much of a change. Very pleasant though.

Rating:

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Title: Space 1992:: Rise of the Chaos Wizards
Artiste: Gloryhammer
Year 2015
Nationality: British (Scottish)
Genre: Power Metal
Rank: Novice
2

Expectations: Their first album was pretty damn hilarious. If they're going out in space for their second, it should be quite the riot. (See what I almost did there? No? Then **** you.) I've only just realised now that Christopher Bowes, leading light of pirate metal outfit Alestorm, featured in this year's Metal Month III, is involved here. In fact, he founded the band and plays keyboards as well as writing most of the lyrics.

1. Infernus ad astra: This being something of, I assume, a space opera musical, we get an overture, complete with over-the-top dark voice and an orchestral sort of theme; reminds me of The Alan Parsons Project. It's only short, minute and a half, but sets the album up well.
2. Rise of the Chaos Wizards: Let's just be clear on one point before we begin: there is no way you can take these lyrics seriously. Scotsman in space? Aye, Jimmy! But put that to one side and just concentrate on the music and you've got, what? So far, basic power metal I guess, nothing different standing out about it. The lyrics are hilarious of course, but the whole idea of placing this in “the distant year 1992” is a bit weird I feel. Those crazy Scots, huh?
3. Legend of the Astral Hammer: Sorry, sorry! I know I said ignore the lyrics, but come on! “As I slash my way through an army of goblins on the dark side of the moon”??? Oh this is too much! I think I love these guys. Batty would call this goofy. He'd not be wrong. Music is well played though and they seem to be having a good time, which I suppose is all you can ask, as long as you're enjoying it too. And I am.
4. Goblin king of the Darkstorm Galaxy: Yeah, it's power metal by-the-numbers but it's hard to care, it's such fun.
5. The Hollywood Hootsman: Not sure how we got from space and the Darkstorm Galaxy to Hollywood, but, you know, when in LA...
6. Victorious eagle warfare: Superb keyboard line leading this. Man, it's pretty impossible to review. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Crack a can maybe, or light up, I don't know; I do neither. But it's immense fun.
7. Questlords of Inverness, ride to the Galactic Fortress!: Another instant classic
8. Universe on fire: I can see why this was the first single. Really catchy while still remaining heavy.
9. Heroes (of Dundee): What these guys are doing for Scotland! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland! Wait, is this the obligatory ballad? Starts off very dramatic and slow, like a cinema soundtrack .. oh no, I'm wrong. Here's a fast riffing guitar coming in now. And ... we're off! Another very catchy song. Like this a lot.
10. Apocalypse 1992: I sure hope not, or I've been living over twenty years as a zombie now! This is the epic end of the story (for now anyway) with a literally Earth-shattering climax which leaves me to assume a part three will be on the way at some point. Can't wait! The music is very dramatic and portentous, with that silly dark voice getting all het up and the band really going for it over nearly ten minutes.

Final result: I really enjoyed this album (if you hadn't picked up by now on the subtle hints I've been dropping): sure, these guys aren't doing anything terribly new or groundbreaking, and it's all fairly generic power metal but with a nice space opera twist. The lyrics, if silly, are well written and it's almost like a tongue-in-cheek version of Coheed and Cambria, I would think. Bowes seldom takes himself seriously, so it's no surprise this is a rip-roaring flight of fantasy from beginning to end. Highly recommended if you need cheering up.

Rating:

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The Batlord

God damn somebody likes World of Warcraft.

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They're a trip, man!

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Trollheart

Title: King of Kings
Artiste: Leaves' Eyes
Year 2015
Nationality: German
Genre: Symphonic Metal/Gothic Metal
Rank: Apprentice
6

Expectations: I've heard some of their material, liked pretty much what I heard. The addition of Epica's Simone Simons can only be good. Having just listened to Gloryhammer fighting in space, it seems this is also based on warriors, but grounded more firmly on this planet, and presumably in the past, history or legend.

1. Sweven: There's a lovely soft folky violin to introduce the song, then an acoustic guitar joins and as the percussion rolls heavily in, almost tribally so, the vocals also make themselves apparent, Liv Kristine always sounding to me like our own Maire Breannan of Clannad. If you don't know who she is, rememeber “Harry's Game”? No. Then **** you. Warrior chorus building now behind what appear to be pipes of some sort --- I see uileann pipes are credited, so I guess that's them. A choir now comes in (according to Batty's least favourite reference source, Wiki, the same one that performed on both The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, as well as others). The song then begins to get going before it's pulled back by the solo vocal of Liv, with chiming bells or something behind her, and then continues into
2. King of kings: The tune more or less carries on from the short opener, making me wonder if this is a concept album? Nothing I've read so far supports or rejects that idea, but I kind of think it might be. Liv is in fine form as ever, the choir providing some great support for her, and the pace still pretty sedate though powerful. Some strong male vocals coming in now from Alex Krull (brilliant name for someone with a real growler of a voice!) and th song ends on a triumphant note.
3. Halvdan the Black: Discordant horns and then the sound of battle take this in, military drums slowly punching out the beat before the choir soars above it all and guitar riffs begin to blast off left, right, and, you know, centre. The first time the album takes flight really, and justifies the “metal” part of their genre tag. Another great vocal from Liv, and it rocks along nicely.
4. The waking eye: Guest piano from Kamelot's Oliver Palatoi opens this and then it powers along at a fine pace, a soulful vocal from Liv, with great cutting guitar work throughout.
5. Feast of the year: Twenty-odd seconds of uileann pipes and flutes with celtic drumming. Go on ya boy ya! Runs directly into
6. Vengeance venom: Good rocker but perhaps a little generic, though the uileann pipes and other celtic instruments do give it a certain individuality.
7. Sacred vow: Another good rocker, but I can't really pick out anything special about it.
8. Edge of steel: Simone pops in for her guest slot, and, as they say, kills it. Superb. The melody sounds very familiar though. Great chorus, real symphonic metal and Simone's operatic voice contrasts nicely with Liv's more gentle one on the other tracks.
9. Haraldskvæði : Very much more low-key, almost acapella at times, very moving.
10. Blazing waters: Another guest vocalist, this time Lindy-Fay Hella: don't know her, but she has the same sort of operatic voice that Simone has. Good song; the male vocals from Krull add the finishing touches. Powerful dramatic ending. Excellent. Oh wait: no it isn't. Well, it is, but then there's some nonsense chanting at the end. Bit silly but it doesn't ruin a great track.
11. Swords in rock: And we're off to the ceili again (Irish traditional dance): not sure what the link to the celtic music is here, but it's quite infectious. This sounds like something off aforementioned Clannad or maybe Planxty's albums. Rocks nicely once it gets going, has something different about it certainly.

Final result: Let's give Leaves' Eyes credit for avoiding falling into the trap much of their fellows do, which is to write long, epic songs that go nowhere and are extended just for the sake of extending them. The longest song here is just over seven minutes, and most come in around the three or four minute mark. No, it's not a classic of symphonic metal --- though if you hate that genre be warned: this is VERY typical of this type of music --- but it's another good Leaves' Eyes album, and that's good enough for me.

Rating:

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Trollheart

Title: Travelog
Artiste: Kinetic Element
Year 2015
Nationality: American
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rank: Noob
2

Expectations: Not the foggiest. I see it's what might be termed “real progressive rock”, as in, there are only five tracks with the shortest just shy of ten minutes, while the longest is twice that. Could be great, could be wankery to the nth degree, who knows?

1. War song: Interesting, almost Gabrielesque buildup in the intro, then it takes something of a jazzy turn, reminds me of the likes of Jethro Tull or Gentle Giant (what I've heard of them anyway) and now it's turning very seventies Genesis with a big keyboard run and a nice guitar solo. Three minutes in now and I have yet to hear vocals. Oh, here they are, in the fifth minute, just as I was thinking this would be an instrumental, if a long one. Hey! Sounds like the guy from Sean Filkins's album... no, don't recognise the name. Looks like there are three different vocalists here, and this first one, Dimetrius LaFavors, sings on the first three of the tracks here. Good voice. Enjoying this so far. Some fine keyboard work and almost Santanaesque guitar. Holy hell that was good.
2. Travelog: Beautiful little soft acoustic guitar to open this, then gets very Yes indeed. This is a great track too. Love the false ending when it then picks up into another but faster acoustic guitar run.
3. Into the lair: I'm telling you, this album just keeps getting better! Now we have a Rushesque dramatic cinematic instrumental to open, and the last of LaFavors's vocal performances, which so far have been gold. And continue to be. This one is very much instrumental for most of its ten-minute run though. This is not surprising really, as founder Mike Visaggio plays the keys and also writes the songs. Pretty sure there's a mellotron in there: talk about the old prog sound!
4. Her: Starts off with a truly beautiful piano solo which reminds me of Wakeman and Banks, joined then by flutey keyboard which takes us into the second minute, where it develops on a sort of staccato drum beat and piano, bringing in the vocals this time of Mike Florio, whose sound is much different to that of the previous singer but still really suits the music. I have to admit, I'm kind of not so taken with the way this one is unfolding at the moment, so it could be the first Green in a sea of Blues. Still, it runs for eleven minutes, of which we've only hit the fifth at this point, so let's not judge it too quickly. Yeah, it has some okay elements (sorry) but it's only getting a Green.
5. Vision of a new dawn: This however is right back to the Blues. Beautiful keyboard/piano intro, great vocal from the final singer on this album, one Michel Loose Schrotz. We're twelve minutes into the eighteen it runs for already and I hadn't even realised. Some great individual performances here, but still with the band working together as a unit.

Final result: Truly stunning album from a band of whose existence, once again, I was totally ignorant. Haven't been quite this impressed since I listened to Willowglass. Definitely recommended for aficionados of true prog rock; this will take you back while still keeping you firmly in the present. Wonderful effort. Must now check out their other album.

Rating:

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Trollheart

Found this hiding away on page 20 or so. Time to kick some life into this thread. Watch for reviews soon. You have been warned.

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Trollheart

Title: Trespass
Artiste: Trespass
Year 2015
Nationality: British
Genre: NWOBHM, Heavy Metal, Melodic Metal
Rank: Novice *
2**

Expectations: I've loved Trespass ever since I heard “Stormchild” on the compilation album Metal for Muthas, Vol II, but despite desperate searching, have been unable to come across any of their material. They did release an album, it seems, in 1993, called Head, but it's really hard to get, even impossible. Other than that, all that's been available from them to date has been compilations, and though I was excited to see this, their second real album, released this year, I note now that basically it's again just a rehash of previous compilations, with no new material at all, which is a big disappointment. Still, I've failed even to find those compilations, so to me most of this will be technically new. For a band who have been championed by me on the basis really of two songs, this will be an interesting introduction to what I suppose is really their back catalogue.

1. Stormchild: We kick off on the song that made me sit up and take notice of them, with its wonderful single riff intro, then joined by a powerpunch from a second guitar, before the two get going in unison and then the vocal comes in. Superb solo and a smashing end; this song should be known much more than it is. If there's any doubt that Trespass can be considered metal, this should blow those protests away. This is however a re-recorded version, and though I still prefer the original, I'm still Blueing it.
2. Assassin: This has NWOBHM written all over it, and yet has the commercial appeal of a song you could hear on the radio, even now. Little dated yes, but not that much. Good rocker with a killer riff running through it. This, and some others including the next one, go right back to their original demo Through the Ages (optimistic or what?) released in 1980. Turns into a real power boogie in the fourth minute (it runs for just over six, and was originally released as parts 1 and 2).
3. Ace of spades: Anything in the fact that this was written in the same year as Motorhead's classic? I don't know, but then it's a fairly common theme for songs I suppose, though I don't know of another so titled. When I saw this on the tracklisting I thought originally it might be a cover, but given that it was originally recorded in 1980 that was unlikely. And it's not. It's a totally different song; nowhere near as in-your-face or fun as Motorhead's one of course, in fact if anything it reminds me of Stampede (who?) as it bumps and grinds along. This version is extended from the original by almost two minutes. Great guitar break in the middle, which then rises into a killer solo.
4. Eight till five: This one, conversely, is slightly shorter than the original, though only by twenty seconds. Hits a real groove from the off, with some fine Lizzyesque guitar. Also reminds me of the best of the Tygers of Pan-Tang. Great stuff.
5. Bloody moon: One of the few new tracks, as it were, this appeared on their first compilation in 1992, The Works, where it appears to have originally been called “Blood moon”, though that could just be a typo. Another fine Lizzy intro with a great rocking beat that should have been ringing out across the nation, and further. Criminal. Maybe a little too close to Lizzy on this occasion, but still fantastic.
6. One of these days: The other song I know of theirs, which appeared on the Metal for Muthas Vol II compilation. It didn't hit me as hard as “Stormchild” did (considering that closed the entire album, it had added punch) but it is interesting that they were the only band to have two tracks chosen to go on that album. Anyway, it's a good good song, though perhaps not as great as it could be. The re-recorded version? Oh holy good ****! They extended it to twice its length and did some of this by placing a truly gorgeous guitar intro where normally the song would just start. Certainly makes a difference. Okay, in fairness, with lyric like “You run around giving yourself a bad name/ I rally think you ain't got no shame” it's not going to be winning any songwriting contests. But what it lacks in lyrical finesse it makes up for in raw energy and enthusiasm, and this extended version - which has another powerful guitar solo at the end too - ticks all the boxes and fills in the missing parts of the original. Much, much better. It was gonna go Blue anyway, but at least now I feel more justified in doing so.
7. Live it up: This was in fact their first single in 1981. Oddly, though it was on the original demo, the B-side, which is the next track, wasn't. Again it's not the most original of sentiments in the lyric, but it's a decent song.
8. Jealousy: I wonder why this wasn't originally released on the EP? It certainly rocks like a good thing, and doesn't really stop till the end. Bit odd the way he sings “Jealous-eye” though.
9. The duel: This is another fine rocker, with some really expressive slower guitar at the end before it bursts out with a riff reminiscent of the one that opens “Stormchild”, and then fades out on that.
10. Lightsmith: Beautiful acoustic intro to the closer, which again was on the demo. Thought it was going to be a ballad till it suddenly exploded on a powerful lively guitar and began galloping along in the midsection.

Final result: Well if nothing else this proves that the two tracks I heard were certainly not flukes! The quality of musicianship, songwriting and singing on display here makes me once again shake my head and wonder why these guys never made it? I guess some mysteries will just never be solved.

Rating:

* Although I've only heard two of their songs, it hasn't been for the want of trying to purchase their material, so technically not really a Noob but I can't say I've heard enough of their music to qualify as anything other than that.

** In existence since 1978, Trespass nevertheless released only two albums in that time, their other efforts being all compilations, of which there were three between 1992 and 2004.

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Trollheart

Title: Shifting the Equilibrium
Artiste: Unified Past
Year 2015
Nationality: American
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rank: Noob
7

Expectations: Anteater said it made it into his top ten, so that should be some indication of its quality. I'd expect nothing less than a classic.

1. Erasure principle: Dceptively boppy almost poppy start, then the guitar bites through, and when the vocal comes in it really punches in, very Andersonlike I feel. Some very good guitar work here, and is that mellotron?
2. Smile (In the face of adversity): This is pretty powerful from the off, with some trumpeting keyboards and hard, snarly guitar. Really like the vocal in this; he seems to be finding his own voice, kind of edging towards an AOR/Melodic Metal thing.
3. Etched in stone: Love the jangly guitar that opens this. Sounds like they're kind of robbing that squeaky bit out of Genesis's “Tonight, tonight, tonight”... Song develops really well, with some great performances.
4. Peace remains in the world: Now this is totally Yes. I mean it's almost a carbon copy, not of one of their songs but definitely of their style and Anderson's singing approach.
5. Deviation from a theme (of harmonic origin): Oh I love the way this explodes on guitar and keyboard right out of the gate! An eight minute song and the vocals don't even begin until ... at all. It's an instrumental, and a great chance for everyone to exercise their musical muscle, which they do to great effect. Interesting and impressed to see that one guy does both guitars and keyboards here. Was that a muppet voice at the end??
6. Today is the day: Again though very very Yes, which is something of a disappointment as it makes the band seem less original and innovative.

Final result: Definitely wouldn't have made it into my top ten. A good album, a very good album but way too derivative for my tastes. I can understand anyone having influences, but for my money Unified Past sound too much like Yes here, pretty much all through the album, and it's hard then to judge them on their own merits. An enjoyable album, to be sure, but not close to indispensable.

Rating:

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Anteater

Fair review. What sold me on the album last year was vocalist Phil Naro, who is definitely not an Anderson clone though he can pull it off when he wants to. You can hear a lot other influences besides Yes (like The Outfield and Rush), but as a fellow AOR fan I'm surprised your a stickler for originality. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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