Appomattox – A O
Triple Down Records

(5/5)

Helping keep the underground music scene of Brooklyn, NY alive, Appomattox released their debut album A O in 2008! This full length album includes 13 great tracks that really show what Appomattox is about with the combination of Indie rock, Punk, and a few other various styles of music. Honestly, this band needs to have a bigger following than what I saw when I saw them live. They really have a unique style that translates well in their live show and can be listened to by a wide variety of music fans. Some of the best examples of their style on A O are songs like, but certainly not limited to “Style Sore” (Track 2), “Sparx” (Track 4), “Attakk” (Track 5), and “A O” (Title Track/Track 13). Really, these are just a few of the tracks from the album, but the entire album is excellent. As with some of the albums reviewed here on Rock In Review before, you really have to hear the album to truly get a feel for how these guys sound. All in all, Appomattox is a great band with a great album in A O! I recommend this album for fans of Indie rock or Rock fans in general who can appreciate a band’s sound that’s not like the norm in Rock today!

Dååth – The Concealers
Century Media Records

(4/5)

Armed with a new vocalist, a dueling pair of guitarists, a solid bassist, and one of the best Metal drummers in the scene, Dååth has recorded their third full length album entitled The Concealers! This album is the first Dååth album I’ve experienced, but I can see right away that these guys bring an aggressive approach to their sound. With a mixture of Thrash metal, Death metal, Progressive metal, and more included, The Concealers has an overall sound that is heavy enough to shake the earth beneath your feet as you listen to it. As heard on the album, this quintet really fuses together well to have the Metal sound unlike any I’ve really heard before. All of the tracks on this album have their individual features that make them great, but some of the ones I really enjoy include “The Worthless” (Track 3), “The Unbinding Truth” (Track 4), “Wilting on the Vine” (Track 6), and “Day of Endless Light” (Track 8). Again, each of these tracks have their individual aspects that make them awesome, but these four provide a great overview of the album. One of these tracks that really sticks out over the rest of the album for me is “The Unbinding Truth”. This song really showcases some of the talents of this great band with the winding fret work of guitarists Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler along with the technical drumming of ex-Chimaira drummer Kevin Talley and the aggressive vocals of Sean Z. Also, the overall song has a really interesting sound to it that you don’t hear much outside of, maybe, Black metal. It’s actually hard to explain; it’s just one of those tracks you have to hear the track for yourself. All in all, this new Dååth album The Concealers is a great metal album that can be enjoyed by Metal fans who really like a variety of Metal styles created by an all-star line-up.

Sirenia – The 13th Floor
Nuclear Blast Records

(5/5)

Just, as it seems, as most other Symphonic metal bands, Sirenia is not unaccustomed to line-up changes (particularly with singers), but they are pushing on and making excellent music exemplified by their newest album The 13th Floor. The new female singer for the band is Spanish singer Ailyn, and she sounds fantastic! Backing her up vocally is band founder/guitarist Morten Veland who adds clean male vocals to the mix as well as his guttural screams and growls. Together, these two make an excellent vocal pair to lead this band with the help of new guitarist Michael S. Krumins and drummer Jonathan A. Perez. On the album, Morten plays bass, but the current live bassist is Kristian Olav Torp. As stated by Morten, “…it’s the strongest Sirenia line-up to date…” Digging more into the album, this is the first Sirenia album I have experienced, but it will certainly not be the last, or even the last Symphonic metal album, as this style has been popping up in my music arsenal more and more. Generally speaking, The 13th Floor is vocally dominated by Ailyn, but Morten does get his chance to shine in the ninth and final track “Sirens of the Seven Seas”. Either way the vocals go, both members are excellent and really compliment each other and the music. Besides “Sirens of the Seven Seas”, other great tracks on this album include “The Mind Maelstrom” (Track 3), “The Seventh Summer” (Track 4), and “Winterborn 77″ (Track 8). There have only been four tracks mentioned, but in all honesty, the entire album is great. The overall feel is one that is entirely epic and before you know it, you’ve listened to the whole album five times. All in all, this is a fantastic album that should be had by any Sirenia fan as well as fans of bands such as Lacuna Coil, Nightwish, Epica, Therion, and more.

Samael – Above
Nuclear Blast Records

(3/5)

With 8 full length albums and 2 EPs previously released, Samael is back with their eleventh overall release Above! Typically, I’m all in for Black metal bands/albums, but Above didn’t quite hit me as well. The overall album is good, but the drums make it really difficult for me to truly enjoy this album. The two main reasons the drums are such an issue fore me are the excessive use of blast beats, and the overall mix for them. When I listen to Black metal, I like a good mixture of styles in the music as the case is with bands like Dimmu Borgir and Satyricon, but when the drummer puts in a lot of blast beast, it becomes too close to Death metal, in my opinion. Now, that’s not a huge issue since I also listen to bands like Behemoth who has a pretty brutal form of Black metal, but the mix does present a bigger problem. In my opinion, the drums on this album are too loud. This may not sound like a big deal, but when the drum track overpower the other tracks on nearly every song, it makes it hard to listen to everything and truly enjoy the album. Despite these issues, Above still is a great album for Samael fans and general Black metal fans alike. Some of the best tracks on the album include “Black Hole” (Track 2), “Earth Country” (Track 4), and “In There” (Track 7). Of those tracks, “In There” is my favorite, providing more difference from the other tracks. All in all, this is a good album by a great band and it helps keep Black metal a dominant force in the Metal world.

HammerFall – No Sacrifice, No Victory
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

HammerFall is back with their newest studio release since 2006′s Threshold entitled No Sacrifice, No Victory! With eleven fist pumping Power metal tracks, No Sacrifice, No Victory is yet another great HammerFall album that proves that line-up changes can’t bring this band down. This new album introduces new guitarist Pontus Norgren as the first new guitarist since 1997. Although Stefan Elmgren’s decision to leave the band to focus more on his career as a pilot is a big change for the guitar duo that includes Oscar Dronjak, HammerFall is forging on as Power metal masters!

Continuing on with the album, No Sacrifice, No Victory keeps with HammerFall tradition as far as cover tracks go with Track 11 being “My Sharona” originally by The Knack. Just as any of the previous cover tracks represented on the 2008 compilation release Masterpieces, these guys did a great job with “My Sharona”, making it a very entertaining track to listen to. On top of “My Sharona”, there are a lot of great songs to listen to on this album including “Any Means Necessary” (Track 1), “Punish and Enslave” (Track 3), “Hallowed Be My Name” (Track 6), “No Sacrifice, No Victory” (Title track/Track 8), and “Bring the Hammer Down” (Track 9). Each of these tracks help provide more proof of how amazing this band is musically and the high level of vocal ability Joacim Cans has. Honestly, it’s not hard to see why this band is one of my favorite Power metal bands. Their sound just speaks for itself! All in all, Stefan Elmgren will be missed, but Pontus Norgren is a great replacement and I can’t wait to follow his future in HammerFall! So far, his start is excellent and he helps make No Sacrifice, No Victory an album that should be had by every Power metal fan!

Lamb of God – Wrath
Epic Records

(5/5)

The kings of Groove metal are back and they have taken it, once again, to another level! This newest Lamb of God release is titled Wrath and it would seem like the band is taking its wrath out upon lesser styles of music. As mentioned before, this album has proved that Lamb of God is continually stepping their game up from album to album, and presenting different styles in each album along the way. They aren’t one of the biggest bands in newer Metal for nothing! Although I like the overall sound of the album, I would suggest listening to the combination of “The Passing” (Track 1) and “In Your Words” (Track 2) as well as “Grace” (Track 6) and “Broken Hands” (Track 7) to get a good feel for the new record. each of these songs helps show the slightly more raw production of the album combined with the cleaner guitar tones and Randy Blythe’s sick vocals, and how these changes help take this album to that higher level of amazing. Speaking of the guitar tones, Mark Morton and Willie Adler really outdo themselves on this album as far as their riffs and solos go. These two guys are true guitar masters of new Metal and continue to show the world why on each album! Helping push the guitars and Randy’s voice is the combined efforts of the band’s rhythm section that includes John Campbell on bass and Chris Adler on drums. These guys are also incredible musicians and Chris continues to, somehow, step it up every album along with the other guys. I honestly don’t know how Lamb of God keeps outdoing themselves! Overall, Wrath is a tremendous Metal album by an excellent band. This is definitely one of my top choices for any Metal fan’s arsenal!

Pan.A.Ce.A – All Or Nothing
Susquehanna Entertainment

(4/5)

The mainstream style of Rock and Hard rock don’t usually sit too well with me, but there are some exceptions out there. Pan.A.Ce.A is one of those exceptions with their full length album All Or Nothing! Packed with the ten original tracks and two new acoustic tracks, this re-release of All Or Nothing combines a Hard rock musical aspect with a strong vocal element creating an overall great experience to listen to from beginning to end. Out of the, now, twelve tracks on this album, the ones I would recommend listening to for their overall quality are “The Blind Lead the Blind” (Track 1), “Move On” (Track 3), “Additive” (Track 5), “Riverbed” (Track 7), and “Nuclear Horizon” (Track 10). The whole album/band’s sound is summed up, in my opinion, by these tracks, but particularly “The Blind Lead the Blind”, “Riverbed”, and “Nuclear Horizon”. These three tracks all bring a strong and heavy edge to the overall album, but also interject the calming Rock style vocal presented in every track. Honestly, it’s a killer combination for breaking into the mainstream Rock scene. Overall, this is a very talented band with a great album for any Rock fan out there looking for that next band to get crazy with!

Avantasia – Lost In Space (Chapter 1 & 2)
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

If you liked Avantasia’s EPs Lost in Space Chapter 1 and Lost in Space Chapter 2, you will love that they have been combined to create this aptly titled album Lost In Space (Chapter 1 & 2)! Featuring Edguy frontman Tobias Sammet as singer and bassist, Avantasia takes a slightly more Symphonic Metal approach to their music as opposed to the Power metal style of Edguy. Incorporated on this album is the help of many talented musicians and singers involving an all-star cast including producer Sascha Paeth on lead & rhythm guitars, Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray) on lead guitar, Michael Rodenberg (Aina and Kamelot) on keyboards, Eric Singer on drums and singing (KISS), Amanda Somerville singing (Aina), Jørn Lande singing (Masterplan and ARK), Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween), and Bob Catley (Magnum) singing. Together, all of these people recorded an amazing set of songs. Included in the tracks for this album are the regular version, and alternate version, and an extended version of the title track “Lost in Space” (Tracks 1, 11, and 12), “Lay All Your Love on Me” (ABBA cover also covered by Helloween) (Track 2), “Another Angel Down” (Track 3), and “Ride the Sky” (Lucifer’s Friend cover) (Track 6). All of these tracks add their own aspects to this great album and help make Avantasia an excellent Symphonic metal band. Overall, Lost In Space (Chapter 1 & 2) is a great album and a great addition to your Metal arsenal!

Edguy – The Singles
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

Having an extensive career dating back to the early 1990s, Edguy has released eight studio albums as well as multiple demos and other albums. This “new” album entitled The Singles is just as the title says; a compilation featuring all singles from the EP’s King of Fools, Lavatory Love Machine and Superheroes(with the exception of the song “Reach Out” from the Lavatory Love Machine). Being a newer Edguy fan myself, this is a great album to have to hear 14 songs that helped launch Edguy into the high ranks of the Heavy metal/Power metal world. Listening to this album over and over again really helped me figure out the humor that this band really brings to their genre with comedic lyrics in songs such as “Lavatory Love Machine” and “Life and Times of a Bonus Track”. It’s really great to see that that kind of stuff isn’t lost in the music business. Although all of the songs on this album are great representations of the great Edguy sound and talent, some of the ones I enjoy the most are “Superheroes” (Track 1), “Judas At the Opera” (Track 4), “Lavatory Love Machine” (Track 7), “New Age Messiah” (Track 11), and “Life and Times of a Bonus Track” (Track 14). All of these songs are great songs in their own manor. Edguy fans who enjoy extra versions of songs are certainly not left out as The Singles also has “Superheroes (Epic Version)” (Track 6) and “Lavatory Love Machine (Acoustic Version)” (Track 8 ) which both offer a different element than in the original version of both of those great songs. Just to keep spicing things up, in “Judas At the Opera”, ex-Helloween singer Michael Kiske pitches in to add more vocal power. Overall, The Singles is an absolute “must have” album for any hardcore Edguy fan or any new Edguy fan who wants a quick look back over the years before purchasing previous studio albums and/or EPs!

Mantic Ritual – Executioner
Nuclear Blast Records

(3.5/5)

Nuclear Blast Records has been a label of great artists for years and there have been quite a few great debut albums that have come through the label. Mantic Ritual’s Executioner is no exception! Now, as much as I love Heavy metal and many of its sub genres, Thrash metal has never been at the top of the list and it probably never will be, but I have to give it to these guys. When first listening to the album, I heard the first track or two and thought “Great. Just another Thrash band with the same old repetitive drum beat.”, but I was proved wrong. It does start off with the obligatory Punk style drum beat, but the rest of the album progresses into a great mixture of old school Thrash influences such as Slayer, Metallica, and Megadeth with the new Thrash to create an excellent overall debut. The members I have to give the most credit to are the guitarists Dan Wetmore (also vocals) and Jeff Potts. I am a firm believer in the rhythm section of a band (being a bass player myself), but these two guys really help the experience of this album turn away from the same old same old sound of today’s Thrash, and they bring a true form of Thrash to the table. Some of the main tracks I would focus on for these guys’ shredding solos and guitar play are “Black Tar Sin” (Track 3), “Death and Destruction” (Track 4), “By the Cemetery” (Track 10), and “Next Attack” (Track 11). “By the Cemetery” is the main one of those four because the opening shred in the song and the later shredding guitar solos as well as the smooth transition into “Next Attack” where there are no holds barred to finish out the album. Overall, Executioner is a great album for any Thrash fan to have in their arsenal.