Trollheart

And now, in a total knee-jerk reaction and over-the-top response to everyone who hated my latest contribution to Rez's weekly mixtape...


Been a while since I hit this feature, but then in fairness it's been a while since I heard an album that just totally blew me away in the most unexpected fashion. Now, in the last few months I've heard two, the other of which has been featured in "Bitesize" but will appear here eventually, but that will have to be put on ice for the moment, as today I want to talk about this one. First I need to pay appropriate tribute and thanks to the mighty Anteater, without whom I would like as not never have heard this album, even though I'm a fan of the band. It was only when he suggested it for that week's selection in our Prog Rock Album Club that I got to hear it. Now, up to then, I'd be listening to the various albums proposed by our members with something approaching a sense of inevitability and pragmatism; I knew I had to listen to the albums in order to give my opinion, and I would, but not quite with bad grace but with a certain "here-we-go-then-let's-get-this-over-with" mentality. I was looking on it as a task, something that had to be done rather than something I was looking forward to doing. That all changed when I heard this album.

For the first time ever, I made a decision having heard only two tracks, stopped the playback of the file I had and went to buy the album in its entireity, knowing that it was going to be one I would be listening to over and over again. Once I had it I informed the guys in the PRAC that they would, after all, have to wait another while for my review, as I now wanted to completely immerse myself in this album in order to provide the proper viewpoint on it. Prior to that, I had just been going to listen to it the once and give my thoughts, but so impressed was I by even the first two tracks that I felt I could no longer do that. This album deserved to be listened to in detail, many times, before any pronouncement of how great it was could be written. It delayed my contribution to the club, but it was definitely worth it.

The tall ships --- It Bites --- 2008 (The It Bites Music Partnership)


First, a little backstory. For those of you who have not read my journal from the start, It Bites were a band I got into after hearing the hit single "Calling all the heroes" --- before it was a hit --- and realising this was something really special. I was proved correct of course, but on buying their debut album, the oddly-titled "The big lad in the windmill", I was crushed. That one song apart (as I remember it at least; been a while since I listened to the album) it was a huge disappointment, and I remember songs like "All in red" and "Whole new world" failing to impress me. Back in those days, had I had my journal it probably would have found itself at home in the "Nice song --- shame about the album!" slot. But their followup album changed all that, and "Once around the world" was a massive step forward for the band, easily becoming one of my favourite progressive rock albums of that period. Mind you, the third album, "Eat me in St. Louis" didn't do it for me either, though I suspect that should I relisten to it now I might be more forgiving towards it.

This, then, is their fourth album, and somehow I just never got around to getting it. I did buy "Map of the past", gave it one quick listen but even now couldn't tell you if I liked it or not --- it's due a respin very soon --- and really, that's the sum total studio output (other than compilations) of a band that has been going since the late eighties: five albums. Doesn't really seem much, does it? But then, when you look deeper into It Bites' history you can see why. After becoming dissatisfied with the overly progressive direction of the band, especially on "Once around the world", Francis Dunnery, lead singer and guitarist, was so at odds with the rest of the band that he left, and in the wake of his departure It Bites went through two namechanges, seeking to change also their music approach but nothing worked and they split up in 1990. After failed attempts at a reunion with Dunnery they decided to ditch him altogether, as he was not prepared to commit himself to the new lineup, and John Mitchell, who had played with some of the guys in Kino, was drafted in. Thus began the renaissance of It Bites, and this was the first album put out under the new lineup.

It opens weirdly enough, to be fair, on a sort of mutil-vocal line accompanied by a descending synth line, the vocal rising with the keys until percussion and hard guitar punch in and "Oh my God" gets going with a real sense of "Yellow Christian" from "Once around the world". As the song settles into a sort of mid-paced groove, John Mitchell takes the main vocal and you can hear how competent he is and how worthy a successor to Dunnery, though his voice is a little more gravelly than his predecessor. It Bites have always straddled that precarious chasm between rock and pop, with many of their songs very radio-friendly, leading to their own desciption of their music as "progressive pop". To my mind they're the only one in that subgenre. The band certainly sound happy to be back together, John Beck clearly enjoying himself on the again prog-sounding keys, while Mitchell takes both vocal and guitar duties: it was in Arena that he made his real mark, and as a guitarist, but now it's clear he's one hell of a vocalist too. Not only that, but he writes or co-writes most of the songs too.

Everything kicks up into full gear then for "Ghosts", with a great catchy keyboard line from Beck complementing Mitchell's harder guitar work, and it fairly crackles and fizzes with energy. Mitchell's vocal here is a little more urgent and perhaps a tiny bit laboured, the song sounding somewhat personal to him, but again it's a song you could hear on the radio with no trouble at all. Nice little jangly guitar break in the middle, with Beck's keys moaning like the spirits of the title before it all takes off again, and perhaps when Mitchell sings "The past is behind me" there's a message there for the fans of It Bites. Great screaming guitar solo and the song builds up to a real crescendo with an abrupt sudden end taking us into "Playground", the first ballad with an opening right out of the title track to "Once around the world", a sort of waltzy rhythm pervading the song, a sense of drama and power about it, with Mitchell wringing every ounce of emotion out of the song; big heavy keyboard passages from John Beck add to the both oppressive and liberating atmosphere of the track. The additon of children laughing and playing on the recording is nothing new --- Supertramp were doing this in 1974 --- but it still works.

Despite what I might have thought when perusing the tracklisting, and given their association with the mid-to-late eighties progressive rock scene, "Memory of water" is not a cover of the Marillion track from "Radiation", but is instead a big heavy power rocker with a killer hook built on a superb vocal harmony and some sublime keyboard work from John Beck. It rocks along at a fine pace, some great guitar but much of it relies on the keys, which switch from organ to piano to synth with fluid ease. There is however a wonderful guitar solo from Mitchell near the end, then we're into the standout, which is also the title track. With an incredibly romantic, fantasy element in the lyric, which is freely interpretable however you want to, it seems to be a conversation between two people, one of whom has settled in a foreign country but knows one day he will return home. With a soaring guitar opening it settles into a soft mid-paced, almost balladic sound, with an impassioned vocal from Mitchell, and again the kind of hook many bands would give their eyeteeth for. Fanfare keyboards from Beck overlay an air of grandeur on proceedings, with powerful, almost stately drumming from Bob Dalton. He in fact has intimated the song is about dying, "going home on the tall ships", but as I say you can interpret the lyric how you like: it could even be about an alien stranded on Earth who falls for a human woman and waits to be rescued. The chances of him staying are pretty slim, as the lyric declares "When the time has come/ For me to go/ I will try to make you see".

It's just an amazing song, and definitely for me marks the high point of the album, with even some celtic sounding whistling sounds on the keys from Beck adding an almost Irish lilt to it, but what is more amazing that usually I find on albums once you get to the best track it delineates the "comedown point", as in, from here on in the songs get weaker, and nothing really measures back up to the greatness of that track. This album, though, doesn't flag for one moment, and where you would normally expect a fairly poor song to follow such a classic, that simply doesn't happen, as "The wind that shakes the barley", an eight-minute monster, keeps the quality top notch. Opening on a bouncy organ intro from Beck, the song pounds along with a good degree of heaviness, bringing in that old vocal harmony style that It Bites made their trademark, then falling away on the back of some introspective guitar and slowing right down before bumping right back up again, this time on the vehicle of Beck's trumpeting keyboards. Again, the song title comes from a Marillion one, but then, they took that from a movie I think, perhaps a poem, and it's pure coincidence, as this song is an original.

The one thing that did strike me as odd about it though is the phrasing in the lyric, which reminds me very much of the way a-ha sing "The blood that moves the body". It's not anything like that song, but the chorus does sail very close to it. Now the vocoder rides in, taking the song in a more "Calling all the heroes" direction, and, uh, we're only halfway through it! Another fine solo from John Mitchell brings the song well into its fifth minute, backed by Beck's almost speaking keys, then for the last two minutes or so it basically returns to the original theme, Mitchell's voice almost cracking with emotion and power. Most poppy of all on the album is "Great disaster", which utilises that other old trick this band made their own, the idea of making up sounds and singing almost nonsense, not quite vocalise, but nothing that makes any sense, with the opening line being "Dumbry-umbry-ayo! Oh-wo-ho-ho!" which then forms a sort of backdrop to the actual lyric. The song is a boppy, uptempo, kind of silly little pop song, but whereas another band could have made this indeed into what the title declares, I believe that the sense of fun and passion that It Bites have keeps it within the realms of high quality. In fairness, if there is a point where the album could be seen to dip --- if! --- then this would be it. But I still see it as a good track, very catchy and different, and though it wouldn't appear in my top three on this album, it certainly doesn't merit being skipped or anything like that.

Starting on a quiet digital piano line and soft vocal, "Fahrenheit" becomes another mid-paced rocker with a chiming keyboard sound almost repeating like a kind of bell and some U2-like guitar, another great hook in the chorus and a pitch-perfect vocal performance from John Mitchell. Slick little guitar solo and a softly thumping bassline complements the measured drumming of Dalton, and it's really another winner, as you wait, almost expect, for the quality to slide in one bad track at least, but it never does. I've listened to this album at least twenty times now --- many of those consecutive --- and I know it back to front. There's not one track on it I don't like, not one that I think should not be there. It really does just get better as it goes along. Another beautiful ballad, very well placed as the last one was near the beginning of the album, "For safekeeping" has its bitter side, as Mitchell sings of the power of words, as indeed he did in the opener, and reflects on how a casual sentence or remark can have a much more devastating effect than perhaps was intended or expected. A lovely piano line from Beck leads the song in, with Mitchell's vocal almost stilted in the beginning, and for almost the first two minutes of the song it's keyboard that remains the only accompaniment for the singer, before the percussion, bass and guitar breaks in, with some nice vocal harmonies added too.

A superb guitar solo near the end which is directly taken from "Plastic dreamer" off the "Once around the world" album --- though whether John Mitchell has listened to that album or not I don't know; perhaps it's mere coincidence, but then again ... At any rate, the song winds down as it began, on a simple little piano line and takes us into "Lights", where the band put the foot firmly down on the pedal and barrel along, a great song full of the usual It Bites hooks and melodies, and though both Beck and Mitchell take bass duties on the album whoever does the honours here deserves a mention, as the bass has a real marching, triumphant quality. Excellent chorus that just screams "stage show!"

And for most bands that would be a decent place to close the album. But It Bites aren't finished with us yet, oh no! There's been nineteen years between this and their last album, and they're determined to squeeze as much as they can out of this one. And so we get the thirteen-minute epic "This is England" as a closer, which, to be fair, opens very similarly to the epic and title track that brought "Once around the world" to a close. A soft vocal over tinkling piano and lush synth brings us into the second minute before uptempo bass and squeaking keys with chimes opens into a big hard guitar part with a stronger vocal from Mitchell, harder percussion and the intensity of the song slides up a couple of notches. Driven mostly on almost waiting guitar now, it's just getting into the fourth minute when the song explodes on the back of a searing guitar solo and rattling percussion. Slipping back then on tinkling piano again it's not long before the guitar punches its way back into the mix and then fades back out as vocal harmonies in almost a Queen fashion take the song.

Dalton then properly winds up his drumkit and gets going, and the track is now six minutes old as the title comes into the hook, but unfortunately it's not a hook they hang the song on, which I feel was perhaps a mistake because it really works, but after this they more or less ditch it after one more outing, as the song moves into a warbly frenetic keyboard passage that descends and leads into a recording of a speech of some sort, backed by bass and guitar and drums, then a very Genesisesque keyboard solo before a narrative emerges. I would be lying if I said I knew what the song was about, and even having the lyric doesn't make it any easier to decipher, but then I've never been quite sure what "Supper's ready" is meant to be either. Doesn't stop me enjoying it.

Over an appropriate church organ from Beck Mitchell sings about a vicar who would not confess his sins, and about some woman who lost her child in a hospital. The organ then breaks out into a big booming roar as the song nears its conclusion on a strings-like keyboard passage and a powerful vocal from Mitchell, finally breaking down into a soft retreading of the opening on keys as Mitchell sings "At the end of the day/ I'm going home."

TRACKLISTING

1. Oh my God
2. Ghosts
3. Playground
4. Memory of water
5. The tall ships
6. The wind that shakes the barley
7. Great disaster
8. Fahrenheit
9. For safekeeping
10. Lights
11. This is England

Perhaps I shouldn't be quite so amazed at how brilliant this album is. I raved enough over "Once around the world" two years ago, and I'm aware what It Bites are capable of. But other than that album I never really thought they managed to achieve the potential they were so clearly capable of, and after what I would term two disappointing albums --- at least in comparison to that one --- and almost twenty years, it's more than gratifying to find that they did finally manage to create an album that not only measures up to "Once" but in many ways surpasses it. The songwriting here is nothing short of top drawer, and the band just completely mesh together, even though there are only three of them. The replacement of Francis Dunnery was always going to be a tricky prospect --- in way ways, he was It Bites. He sang, played guitar, composed the songs.

But in John Mitchell I believe the guys hit pure gold. As I said, I've always had the utmost respect for him as a guitarist, whether with Kino, Arena or Frost*, but did not know until now how superb a singer he could be, not to mention songwriter. It wasn't until 2000 that he was allowed to contribute any songs to Arena's albums, and that resulted in the massively popular "Immortal?", and the albums just improved from there on. I don't see his writing anything for Frost* (though he may have) and Kino simply credited all their songwriting to the band, though as it was there that he met Beck and Dalton, he may very well have written for that band. Whatever the truth, some of the songs he wrote for "The tall ships" are nothing short of remarkable.

Remarkable, too, is the fact that a band, basically thought dead without a new album in almost twenty years, could come storming back after a breakup and a major lineup change and record such a brilliant album, almost like Asia returning with "Phoenix" in the same year, though they had only been apart for four years at that time. Again, I must thank Anteater, without whom I might have heard this album, but if at all it would have been a lot later than I did, and I would have missed out on a true gem, and a classic comeback album. Thanks, man!

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Trollheart

DAYS TO GO UNTIL

BEGINS!

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Anteater

\m/

Oh, and an excellent in-depth analysis of The Tall Ships there. I had no idea when I first brought it up that you'd take to it so strongly, but I'm glad it did! It really is a diamond in the rough and I'm happy it continues to make such a great impression. Keep up the great writing my friend!

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Trollheart

Warm winter --- Memories of Machines --- 2011 (Mascot Records)

We first met Tim Bowness in No-Man, where he teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and overall musical genius Steven Wilson to produce some incredible albums, one of which, "Schoolyard ghosts", was reviewed by me in "Bitesize" some time back. Here he has linked up with Giancarlo Erra, brain behind Italian prog and art-rock band Nosound, to form Memories of Machines, and this is their debut album. Don't expect to be rocked: it's not that kind of album. Almost everything here is quiet, laidback, gentle but with a definite passion and purpose. Tim handles all the vocals and Giancarlo handles, well, everything else. They also draw in some primo talent from the world of progressive rock to guest on certain tracks, with the likes of Julianne Regan from All About Eve, the legendary Peter Hamill and the even more legendary Robert Fripp.

The opener is a short, atmospheric synth-led piece which essentially forms the signature track, with Bowness singing on "New memories of machines" before we move into "Before we fall", a rising synth soon joined by feedback guitar and a slow pounding drumbeat as Bowness's voice washes over you. This is the best description of the singer's style; he sort of breathes the vocal, exhaling it out over you in a glorious outpouring of emotion and passion. Very Pink Floydesque backing vocals from the aforementioned Julianne Regan, powerful drumming backing her and Bowness as the song shifts into its final section on the back of an exquisite guitar solo from Erra. Sumptuous cello from Marianne de Chastalaine on "Beautiful songs you should know", which also appeared on "Schoolyard ghosts" in a different form. A soft, evocative, gentle song which tugs at the heartstrings, it's typical of the sort of thing you'll find on this album, with Erra accompanying de Chastalaine on acoustic guitar.

The title track then is a slightly more uptempo song, though not much. Acoustic guitar from Erra frames the track, with a lovely emotional bridge and an evocative motif: "Hear the sirens through the rain".. Soft percussion urges the song along until Erra slips in the most beautiful, yearning guitar solo you'll hear in a long while, reminds me of Gary Moore at his most emotional, then Steven Wilson makes a guest appearance himself on "Lucky you, lucky me", adding keyboards and guitar to the soft rolling almost acoustic sound of the track. Bowness's voice drifts over and through the music like a lost soul, searching for his home. There's a lot of pain in his voice, but a real note of hope too. A lovely Mike Oldfield-sounding guitar solo right there at the end just completes the song, and takes us into the somewhat eerie opening for "Change me once again", where the intensity goes up again with strong keyboard lines and acoustic guitar, and Bowness's voice ringing with passion.

As I say, you'll get no change out of this album if you expect hard rockers or fast songs; it's all very laidback and serene, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't pack one hell of a punch. Julianne is back to add backing vocals to this, with the voice of an angel. The shortest track on the album then, bar the opening intro, "Something in our lives" runs for just over four minutes and is a bleak, sparse song with very ominous and dark sounding piano, some weird little effects against which Bowness's voice stands out starkly until some soft acoustic guitar backed by electric slides into the song, and the whole shape and feel of the song changes. Then it pulls back to the barebones on the piano and synth effects, cold for the verses, warmer and less threatening for the chorus. Talk about contrasts. The great Robert Fripp then joins the lads for "Lost and found in the digital world", with some gorgeous guitar soundscapes. This is the only song on which someone other than Erra and Bowness write the music, as Fripp has a hand in this one himself. It's ethereal and a little lonely, with low trumpet adding to the sense of desolation.

"Schoolyard ghosts" is a rewrite of the track that appeared on that album by No-Man, but was titled "Mixtaped". In fact, the song was a solo effort written by Tim Bowness, and is the only song here written just by him. There's a certain difference between this and the rest of the album, and it certainly stands out. The guitar on it is very Gilmouresque and appears to be something called a "volume swell guitar": you guitarists will know more about that than I do. There's also some lovely eighties style synth and electric piano on the song, and a fine piece of work on the sax by Myke Clifford. The percussion, too, is about the hardest and most pronounced you'll hear on this album, where many tracks don't even feature a drummer.

The closer is also the longest track, and "At the centre of it all" features prog rock legend Peter Hammill on guitars, with a rising, atmospheric synth opening which runs for almost two minutes before it's joined by sparse piano and Bowness comes in with the vocal. A slowburner, it takes its time to establish its mood but the time taken is well spent. There's a return for Marianne de Chastalaine on that beautiful cello, and some lovely double bass work from Porcupine Tree's Colin Edwin which just adds to the overall atmosphere of the song. It's a downbeat finish to an album that really doesn't have too many "up" moments, but is somehow all the better for it, and in more ways that one it's a very fitting and appropriate way to close this superb album.

TRACKLISTING

1. New memories of machines
2. Before we fall
3. Beautiful songs you should know
4. Warm winter
5. Lucky you, lucky me
6. Change me once again
7. Something in our lives
8. Lost and found in the digital world
9. Schoolyard ghosts
10. At the centre of it all

This is not an album you dance to. This is not an album you rock to. This is not an album you throw on when you're doing the dishes or taking a short trip into town, or walking the dog or heading into work. This is an album you don't so much listen to as experience, don't so much hear as inhale, don't so much play as allow it to enter you. It washes over you, spreads through you like a soft mist, permeating your pores and flowing into your bloodstream. It's carried along your arteries and through your body until it reaches your heart, where it carefully but firmly slips through the wall of your most vital organ, swirling around in there like a magic potion, till from your heart issues the softest of sounds, transmitted up to the brain and finally expressed through your lips and lungs as the most grateful sigh of pleasure.

Then you understand Memories of Machines, and realise how special what you've just been witness to is.

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Trollheart

THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER!

DAY TO GO!

BEGINS TOMORROW!

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Trollheart

All right children, come with me! Time to leave this place. Those heavy metallers will be here soon, for Metal Month starts in barely an hour's time! Quickly now! Don't dawdle! You don't want to be here when they arrive on those horrid motor-cycles of theirs!


Harold! Come HERE at ONCE! No, you CANNOT just wait till they play Morbid Angel! Really! I don't know what you're thinking of! Sarah, hurry on now! The door is this way! Come on, come on! Hurry now, there's very little time...

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AnnaleeMercurio

the reads are too much long and not to get done in a single swap .. i am going to get it in parts as it may make a proper sense of the write meant for

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Trollheart

The time is here, the moment has arrived.

Welcome to a whole month of music that's hard, heavy, fast and loud. Well, most of the time. Some of it is slow. And loud. But always loud. And heavy. Welcome to a world where music is written with little thought for romance or getting you out to shake your booty on the dance floor, where the lyrics can range from songs about motorbikes and women to death and loneliness, and from nuclear armageddon to a good old punch-up. There are also songs about magic and wizards, science-fiction and beer, devils and angels, and poking someone's eyes out with a skewer just fer the hell of it. You know, heavy metal.

In entering this journal today you've crossed over to the wrong side of the tracks and found yourself in an often harsh world of tough guys and tougher girls, where nobody gets the bus and if you mention a motorcycle crash helmet you're likely to get kicked in the head. These bands are hard, they're uncompromising, and they're all pretty damn loud. But that doesn't mean it's just noise, oh no. Well, some bands are. Just noise, that is. Some of these guys' idea of singing doesn't let's say tally with mine, and if you're of a nervous disposition there are bands you should definitely think twice about listening to.

But Metal is generally a friendly community, with the rough camaraderie of the trenches or the booze cruise, and as long as you're not a Poseur you should fit right in and find a home here over the next month. If you are a Poseur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia then be warned: there will be nothing here for thirty-one days but metal, so if that's not your cup of poison then I suggest you look elsewhere until November rolls around. If you're someone who is not that au fait with Metal then this is the place for you, as I'll be doing my best, ably assisted by two Metal forum icons, to educate you and play music from every subgenre I can, even if I don't personally like it. The aim here is to try to provide, in as far as possible, a broad demonstration of what Heavy Metal is all about, how the various subgenres differ from each other, and why we love it.

If you're already a Metalhead, then hopefully you'll enjoy what I present here over the next month. I'm happy to admit I'm just really an amateur here --- not quite a Prospect but not a full gang member of the Heavy Metal Motorcycle Club --- and much of what I'm listening to here is the first time these ears have experienced that band or album. But as I say I do have two helpful True Metalheads to help me out, so they will hopefully guide me and field any questions. I've tried to sample albums from the bigger and also the lesser known bands in each genre, but it won't be just a month of album reviews: there are plenty of other things planned which I will reveal over the course of the coming days and weeks.

If you're the sort of person who wouldn't listen to heavy metal if it was the only music on the planet, you've probably taken a wrong turn and found yourself in unfamiliar, which is not to say unfriendly territory. If you're prepared to listen and give this music a chance, you may learn and who knows, even come to appreciate this music which is to many of us the lifeblood that pumps in our veins and the thing that gets us up in the morning. If not, then I suggest hauling your arse out the door, because you will not see anything here over the next four weeks which is other than heavy metal music. There are going to be album reviews, specials, features and hopefully a lot of good discourse and debate, and with a bit of luck we may all actually end up having a good time. At the very least I expect there'll be heated arguments leading to chairs being smashed over heads, pool cues used for a purpose other than that for which they were intended, and a whole lot of smashed beer bottles.

But worry not: the cops don't come here --- pussies! --- and you're quite safe to, ah, express yourself, whether it's a love of Black Sabbath or why Motorhead's "Bomber" is the greatest metal album of all time, or tell us all why Trivium do NOT suck or even why Scandinavian Black Metal kicks everyone else's arse. Whether you're into Death, Doom, Thrash, Speed, Progressive, Melodic, Gothic, Extreme, Black (yeah I said Black), Power, Stoner or just Classic, or hell, even Nu-Metal, you will hopefully find something to interest you here over the next month.


Before we begin, some notes:

1. Although I am a Metalhead I have already admitted I have a somewhat limited appreciation of Metal. I know what I like and in general I stick to it. These last two months of research have been something of an eye-opener and an education for me, and I've certainly learned a lot, broadened my musical metal horizons a little. But many of the bands featured here are ones I have never heard prior to this, and in many cases I've had to guess at the best album to showcase their talents. In some cases, it hasn't been hard if the band is well known or have a particularly famous album, but then I don't always want to go for the obvious. But in others it's been more difficult, as the band may not be well known in general circles. In all instances I've done my best to pick an album that will meet with everyone's approval, but of course this may not always be the result. In those cases, I would ask you not to post comments like "Why did you choose album X? Album Y is far better!" or such. I am, as I say, learning, so bear with me.

2. Metal, as we know, is a huge, huge beast, sprawling across many subgenres and with us for over half a decade now. There is no way in Satan's Kingdom that I could hope to feature all the main players in this genre over the course of a mere four weeks, and inevitably someone is going to be left out, forgotten or just not included for time reasons. In that case, the same as above. Please don't comment asking why I haven't included this band or that band: it's simply not possible to cover everyone in Metal, and I've done my best to look at not just the giants but the smaller bands too. I have tried to ensure all classic bands are included but again that can be a little subjective, so once again bear with me. Remember, I've been doing this all alone. Oh boo hoo, I know!

3. For those of you who may not be that familiar with my journal (excuses on my desk in the morning please!) I have previously featured a fair amount of Metal, and where necessary I will refer back and provide links to these reviews or features so that if anybody wants to they can check them out. Also, if I'm doing say a review of an Iron Maiden album and I know I have reviewed one or more of theirs in the past, I'll provide links to these too.

4. As ever, anyone can comment and debate and even fistfights are welcomed --- this is Metal Month after all, and where would we be without a few "differences of opinion" sorted out in the street? --- but please respect the opinion of others if you do comment. I've no problem with anyone debating the awesomeness of Slayer versus the awesomeness of Motorhead, or whatever, but if anything should descend into cheap namecalling and insults I'll have to bring a mod in. Unless it's two mods, in which case have at it! Seriously, you don't want me to have to call Security, do you?

5. I had intended originally to write a short bio on each band I reviewed, then I was possessed briefly by the spirit of The Batlord and thought, "Fuck that! Wiki has the articles: look them up yourselves you lazy bastards! I'm not rewriting their articles for you!" When I had him exorcised and I was back to myself I did however agree with him: no point in rehashing what's already been written, so now each band featured will be accompanied by a link to the Wiki entry on them, which you can look up to your heart's content. This leaves me much more time to listen to and review the albums, without getting too bogged down in their history or bio.

So, as the band tunes up backstage, the Marshall stacks begin to shake and the restless crowd of long-haired, leather-jacketed rockers pump their fists in the air, the first screeching note from a Flying V cuts through the low rumble of anticipation from the audience and burns into the night sky, and the curtain is slowly raising to reveal two massive red animatronic eyes glaring balefully out while thick smoke billows from under the rising backdrop. A bass drum kicks out a one-two-three...

So grab your favourite beer, turn your amp up to ten and throw the horns: this is

and it starts... right now!

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Trollheart

Okay, this is Metal Month, the month of Metal, so where else would we start? However as it is Metal Month we're going to run one every week, so four in total. Surely over that period of time we'll come across something I can review? Don't be so sure, given my track record with

And right out the traps we have ... another unsigned band! Grrrr! And a power metal one at that! Okay, let's just see if they managed to upload anything to Youtube or anywhere. They're called


Now, someone please explain to me how a band can be together since 1994 and release precisely ONE DEMO in 2002? Not even a self-financed album? A single? Holy Great Dio, as The Batlord would say! Oh well, with a totally unique name like that they're going to be easy to find music from, aren't they? Sigh. Move on. Push the button. YOU push the button! PUSH IT!

Right. Another unsigned band. This time they're atmospheric dark metal and go by the name of but what does it matter, as we're not going to be able to hear what their music is like. Let's see .. together since .... 2008 with one demo. Wait just an axe-grinding moment though! What's this I see on YouTube????

Woo-hoo! Videos! Here's one called "Nocturnal comfort". Seems these guys originally formed under the name of Winter Without End (cheery eh?) and their music sounds as upbeat as their name. Hey, if Nick Cave joined a metal band this sounds like the sort of thing he'd have them play. Nice in its way, bleak, with a slow funereal rhythm, not quite likely to get you headbanging but certainly listenable. In fact, so far I'd be loath to even class this as metal, more like progressive rock or ambient. Ok, this is interesting. Seems to be one guy making the music, a James Trow. Right, now he's hit the power chords and it does indeed sound metal. You know, I really like this! Why is it that bands like this don't get signed? Let's try another one from them...

This is called "Enduring faith", and I really love the raindrops effect. I've sussed by now that Moonlit Wake are (is?) a completely instrumental affair, and this James Trow guy is quite an undiscovered talent. Let's hope that doesn't remain the case for too much longer, and someone snaps him up soon.

Satisfying as that was though, I really still want to find at least one album I can review, so let's push on. OK, this looks promising. They have albums.


Band name: Violator
Nationality: Brazilian
Subgenre: Thrash
Born: 2002
Status: Active
Albums: Chemical assault (2006) Annihilation process (2010) Scenarios of brutality (2013)
Live albums: "Thrashin United: Live in Santiago" (2007) (DVD)
Collections/Boxed sets/Anthologies: None
Lineup: Pedro "Poney Ret" Arcanjo (Vocals, Bass)
Capaco (Guitars)
Marcio Cambito (Guitars)
Batera (Drums)
(I haven't included notes on Founder Members here as everyone bar Cambito seems to have been in at the start)

From their own website, they describe themselves as the "third-world sensation of thrash" --- though in these politically correct time perhaps that should be the "developing world sensation of thrash" --- nah, hasn't got the same ring to it, has it? But they certainly seem to be on a mission to return thrash to its roots, to integrating the underground "DIY" scene with the mainstream in metal, having supported some major names and toured Europe and Asia. But true to their name, rather than conquer the world they want to "annihilate any throne or altar". I have a feeling The Batlord would, or does, love them.

Incidentally, they're not the only Violator on the Brazilian scene. There's another band named the same but they come from Sao Paulo, whereas these guys hail from Brasilia, the capital.

And so on to their recorded output. Well as you can see from above they have three studio albums, not counting EPs and "Splits", and the Sharks of Groove have been very kind to me for once, so I'm going to dive right in to their debut album, released four years after they formed.

Chemical assault --- Violator --- 2006 (Kill Again)

So with the sound of an airliner flying overhead we're off to a breakneck start as "Atomic nightmare" gets us underway. Well, at least they sing in English, though to be honest the vocalist, Pedro, has a very hoarse scream that makes it a little hard to make out what he's singing, allied to the fact that he sings as fast as the guys on guitar riff, making it all a little difficult to work out. But it's certainly Thrash, there's no doubt about that. Some fine supersonic shredding from Capaco and poor old Batera is well named, as he batters the drums as if trying to beat them into submission. It's not technical, it's not pretty and it's not reserved, but it's not bad either. Certainly bands like Anthrax and Annihilator, even Tank do this better, but for four guys from Brazil it's pretty okay.

The interestingly-titled "UxFxTx" (which apparently is a sort of acronym for "united for thrash") more or less delivers the same sort of thing: blazing, ultra-fast riffs and solos, hurried and almost desperate screamed vocal. And drums. It slows down a little in the middle for some tasty fretwork, and even Batera kicks it down a notch as the melody becomes a little more recognisable. Mind you it doesn't last and the song ends on what sounds like Pedro puking. Oh --- kaaay. On we go with "Destined to die", but I have to say, though we're only three tracks in I'm not really seeing a huge amount of difference between tracks. It's all shouted vocals, Mach II guitar and steamhammer drumming, kind of all blending together.

"Addicted to mosh" kind of (kind of) slows it down a little, but not for long, and yeah it's all more or less the same --- speed, power, noise. Meh. I know this is what Thrash can be said to be all about, but I've listened to other Thrash Metal bands and these guys are just, well, cartoonish to me. It's like, let's be as fast and loud and screamy as we can and not bother about the songs. Sort of the Thrash Metal world's answer to Dragonforce? Sigh. I'll be back at the end to voice my overall opinion, unless anything amazing happens before the end of the album.

No, surprisingly it did not. You know, I like thrash metal but this is just a mess. It's like four guys bashing out tunes in their garage or their bedrooms and thinking they're cool. Apparently they've gone down really well in their native country, which only makes me think there can't be too many good thrash bands to choose from in Brazil. This is amateurish, unstructured, loud for the sake of loud, fast for the sake of fast, low-budget third-rate thrash metal.

Like I said, Batlord will probably love it!

TRACKLISTING

1. Atomic nightmare
2. UxTxFx
3. Destined to die
4. Addicted to mosh
5. Brainwash possession
6. Ordered to thrash
7. Toxic death
8. Lethal injection
9. The plague returns
10. After nuclear devastation

It's not that far off punk really, to be honest: there's no melody (yeah: listen to Anthrax or Anvil or Kreator and tell me there's no melody there!), no structure in the songs, such as they are, little in the way of technical expertise and the singer is not a good singer. It's just as well they say they don't want to conquer the world, because the kings of thrash metal are not going to be exactly shaking in their boots at the thought of the competition!

You know what's coming now...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Of course this will not be a definitive guide or anything like it --- I don't have the next two years to work on that! --- but to give those of you who are less familiar with the genre a basic grounding in the more important aspects of Metal, here is an alphabeticised guide. As with the album reviews, Wiki links are provided if you want to look up further. So then, let's start, oh, I don't know, at the beginning?

is for
AC/DC: Australian metal band famous for such as albums as "Back in black", "Highway to Hell" and "For those about to rock, we salute you". AC/DC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ACCEPT: One of the most important of the German Thrash/Speed Metal bands of the eighties. Accept (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ACE OF SPADES: Iconic track by British metal band Motorhead, title track of the album. Ace of Spades (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AEROSMITH: Possibly more Hard Rock than Heavy Metal --- what's the difference between the two? Ask Unknown Soldier! --- Aerosmith still deserve a place here due to their huge influence on the genre with such hits as "Dude (Looks like a lady)", "Love in an elevator", "Livin' on the edge" and for mixing rap with metal with style when they teamed up with RunDMC for "Walk this way". Aerosmith - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AIR GUITAR: A form of celebration/dancing in Heavy Metal, whereby fans mimick the solos of their heroes by pretending they have a guitar in their own hands. This is achieved with a varied range of success, but is so popular that an Air Guitar Championships exists. I kid you not! See also Headbanging. Air guitar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ANNIHILATOR: Another Canadian Thrash Metal band, very influential on the genre.Annihilator (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ANTHRAX: New York thrash metal band, one of the "Big Four", with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth.Anthrax (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ANVIL: Canadian metal band who are acknowledged as having been a big influence on the abovementioned Big Four, as well as others.Anvil (band) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AXXIS: German power metal band. Axxis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to advise me of ones you think should be added as this ABC proceeds.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018