Rivergate is a new progressive metal band from Algiers in Algeria that mixes mainly elements of folk, power and symphonic metal but also includes a few extreme metal riffs and vocals here and there. Their exotic, intellectual and melodic approach to music should please to fans of Amaseffer, Arkan, Myrath, Orphaned Land and Zindan. The frequent use of dominant keyboard leads is what distinguishes this band and gets them closer to bands like Dream Theater and Southern Cross for example.

Even though this first EP suffers from a mediocre production, this release is a true little jewel. The band has a perfect sense for addicting melodies thanks to a technically strong guitar and keyboard play and the melodic but powerful vocals. The inclusion of some Maghreb folk elements or progressive instrumental sections gives these songs a truly liberating atmosphere and makes them feel quite diversified. The songs may clock in at around six minutes but they include no lengths and go straight to the heart.

The band can convince in every track from the almost radio friendly potential hit single “Runaway” to the dark and raw but also quite modern “Talking To Raven” featuring guest guitarist Yossi Sassi of Orphaned Land fame. The mixture of folk and progressive metal elements and modern radio rock passages has rarely sounded so organic and passionate.

If you are intrigued by my review, give these five energizing songs plus a short instrumental opening and an acoustic version of one song a few fair spins. This is Algeria’s first progressive metal record as there are only a few extreme metal bands coming from that country until now. When the Tunisian band Myrath released its first record in 2007, the situation was quite similar and the band has become rather famous all around the world. I’m sure that Rivergate could achieve the same kind of recognition if they continue to work as hard as they already did and I’m eager to hear more from them in the nearby future.

Originally written for The Metal Observer

The Metaphor is a blackened thrash metal band from Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The quartet around singer and guitarist Wu Shuo who is also active in the stoner metal band Never Before and the pagan black metal outfit Martyrdom just released a brand new four track EP entitled “The City Of Pathos, A Saint Of Shame“. The Metaphor sounds a little bit like the band HEXFIRE I have recently reviewed but has been around since 2006 already. Fans of other harsh Chinese thrash metal bands such as the legends Suffocated should also try the band out while those who like more melodic stuff like Overload or more Punk driven acts like Explosicum might not entirely appreciate The Metaphor's style. The band from Beijing is clearly influenced by several American thrash metal bands such as Dark Angel, Morbid Saint and Slayer but adds a slightly darker twist to the genre. If you take a look at the stunning cover artwork, you get to know what to expect from a musical point of view as well. By the way, I would like to have a poster of that great artwork.

This atmospheric approach is supported by a balanced mixture of slow and menacing blackened doom metal moments and blistering blackened thrash metal parts. The band certainly knows how to build up dark atmospheres.

An interesting aspect is that band leader Wu Shuo is actually Catholic and even though he is not the most devout Christian, the band’s lyrics are all clearly inspired by spiritual and sometimes also mythological or philosophical thoughts. This detail definitely makes the band stand out among others but it won’t change the fact that the band will remain a collective of underground musicians who simply live their passion and won’t make but rather lose the money they put into this. The final result sounds though honest and passionate and I sincerely want to encourage the band to continue.

The most surprising thing about this short record is definitely the cover of Nirvana's worldwide hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which now becomes “Smells Like Death Spirit”. Apart from the catchy opening riff and the lyrics, the song has become something completely different and unique. It’s a darkly diversified killer song with depressively slow moments and crunching up-tempo parts building up a lot of gripping negative energy that almost hits the seven minute mark. The original has been covered many times but never as original as here. This is not only the best cover version of the track but also the highlight of this gripping underground EP.

Give this band a few spins on their website if you’re intrigued by my review or if you like atmospheric thrash metal, give these guys fair chance and spread their name: http://site.douban.com/themetaphor/

Originally written for The Metal Observer

When people hear about Curaçao, most of them think of the famous liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the laraha fruit and not of the island in the Carribean Sea next to the Venezuelan Coast where this fruit grows. When you think about the culture of the small country, exotic food made of seafood, indigenous rites and rhythmic dances to Latin-American music may come to your mind. But as you might guess by now, the globalization of metal music doesn’t even stop in front of this polyglot country.

The country’s only known metal band to date is the death metal band Morto Kacho from the colorful capital Willemstad. Formed in 2005, the band released its only self-titled record to date back in 2007 and they are still active these days. Morto Kacho is not only an interesting band due to their exotic origins. The four young men sing in their native language called “Papiamentu” which happens to be a mixture of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

Musically, the band also tries out a few original things. Several songs on the short and entertaining album include spoken word passages that seem to be taken from political speeches or movie samples for example. In general, the band convinces with a mixture of traditional death metal as well as a few thrash and speed metal elements without forgetting about a few fresh experiments from time to time.

Let’s cite a few surprising examples. “Tula” comes around with a few traditional folk elements towards the end that seem to be recorded from a radio show or something similar. “Violashon” opens and closes with what seem to be a few Dutch spoken word passages performed by a woman. Maybe it’s me but I also feel like hearing some orgasmic noises by a woman somewhere in the background of this weird track. If I only understood the lyrics I could probably tell you more about this. Songs like the pitiless “Almanan Perdi” that though opens with a Caribbean folk driven percussion section and the short Aggressive Solution cover “F-27” are rather thrash and speed metal driven and even include some hardcore influences. Don’t ask me who this band is that Morto Kacho covers here because I have never heard of them before.

The weirdest stuff comes last on this release. The band song “Morto Kacho” is not only by far the longest song on the album but also the most diversified track. The blistering track seems though to start in a rather dull way but it reserves us atmospheric spoken word passages, a few truly insane guitar solos as well as very dystopian and mechanical guitar sounds like I have never heard before. This track is the definite highlight on the album. As a little bonus, the band also included a remix of their opener “Wega Di Droga” that reminds me of the latest Morbid Angel remixes with their controversial electronic influences. I happen to like this style but I’m aware of the fact that most metal fans might disagree with me and would probably also dislike this surprising bonus track.

In the end, Morto Kacho is a quite eclectic extreme metal band with some potential apart of their exotic origins that might be appealing to some collectors. Their first record is maybe too short to draw any concrete conclusions but I would definitely keep an eye on this band and hope that Curaçao’s pioneer metal band carries on. Fans of bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Obituary and Slayer should give this release a fair try. Maybe this is the only chance in your life to discover a metal band from Curaçao anyway, so don’t hesitate to check this out.

Originally written for The Metal Observer

Klaymore is a young, talented and energizing heavy metal band from Pittsburgh that doesn’t sound like all the boring revival bands that are just copying the sound from their idols of the eighties. The five young men developed their quite own style even though names such as Black Sabbath, Dio, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Megadeth or Helloween may come to your mind while listening to their music. Despite their young age, these musicians are putting out very good records at a very high speed. After two great records entitled “Primed for Destruction” in 2011 and “It’s Alive” 2012, the band put out a few cover songs. Now, they are back with an EP entitled “New Breed” and these guys indeed represent the new breed of heavy metal while already having a very own sound. They sound fresh and modern but stay close to the genre’s trademarks. Every song on here sounds different but one hundred percent like Klaymore and that's how it should be!

The six new songs all sound great. They have some atmospheric parts, especially the haunting keyboard passages in the fittingly entitled “Haunted”. The bass guitar is enjoyably audible and has its shining moments throughout the entire album which is important to me. The guitar riffs are sharp while the melodic solos are emotional and technically stunning. The vocals on this release are melodic and sometimes a little bit nasal but not in a negative way. In some songs, they even remind me of Ozzy Osbourne. At the same time, the vocals are filled with power and also sound aggressive in the right moments. I’m aware of the fact that the vocals are a matter of taste and a make it or break it element but I really like them and find them unique. The only negative aspect I could find is the drum sound that is a little bit thin and canny at some points. I guess this is due to the production as the musician behind the kit actually seems to be quite solid. Add to this that the cool cover artwork is by far the band's best to date as well.

The songs on this EP are all catchy without taking any prisoners or jumping on a bandwagon. The atmospheric and also quite emotional “Haunting” and the dark closing anthem “Home” with its addicting chorus that could even please to fans of King Diamond are my favourites though. The only things these guys need is a professional label deal and your attention to conquer the world. Forget about hyped retro bands like Avenged Sevenfold or Powerwolf, these guys are the real thing. Go and listen to their music on Bandcamp now and thank me later: http://klaymore.bandcamp.com/

Originally written for The Metal Observer

Russian heavy metal legends Ария prove that their genre is still alive and well and have become its most consistent representative act in the entire world. While other heavy metal bands struggle over personal line-up changes, their age or more and more experimental and progressive influences, all these elements don't keep this band away from delivering pure and yet relevant new heavy metal records. These Russians recently went through an important line-up change. Ten years after the departure of popular original singer Valeriy Kipelov, the successful successor Arthur Berkut also left the band three years ago and got replaced by a young and energizing singer named Mikhail Zhitnyakov of the heavy power metal outfit Гран-КуражЪ.

Now, the new line-up also came around with a first glorious live release recorded in their hometown Moscow that is entitled "В жёлтом круге арены" or “The Yellow Circle Arena”. While fans of most Western heavy metal bands from Iron Maiden to Saxon desire to listen to the old classics, the enthusiastic crowd here cheers the amazing new tracks as much as the pioneer works of the band. We are just three minutes into the brand new opener "Чёрный квадрат" or “Black Square” and you can see the entire band jumping around on scene and the crowd going insane. The band continues with another new track which is the epic "Бои без правил" or “Fights Without Rules” that includes massive sing along parts and a chorus to make you want to kneel before the band. There is no difference of quality in comparison to the older songs and the fans seem to know the new songs as well by heart as they know their classics. My favourite new song of the band called "История одного убийцы" or “The Story Of A Murderer” is as magical on stage as it has been on the last studio album. The crowd claps its hands and sings along in the calm opening parts and goes mad in the atmospheric but unchained middle part of the melodic epic. The instrumental performance and the crystal clear vocals of the song sound technically perfect without lacking energy. You can see young and beautiful women on the backs of their boyfriends, old heavy metal veterans with big smiles on their faces as well as young children bang, cheer and dance along to the music. Heavy metal simply unites all sexes and ages.

The band didn’t forget to include a few classics in their set. Let’s take one of last decade’s greatest heavy metal anthems called "Колизей" or “Coliseum”. The song is just eleven years old but as legendary as the band’s earliest successes. The crowd goes crazy once again, sings along to the majestic chorus and the band just rules the song with big smiles on their faces while performing the highly melodic and epic middle part that shows us how great this band still is and how great Iron Maiden and Manowar once upon a time were as well. "Последний закат" or "Last Sunset" is another melodic heavy metal anthem which is only eight years old by now but the song must still be cited as highlight on this release. It mixes atmospheric and epic verses with a highly melodic chorus that ends on a heavier note. It's the kind of more laid back heavy metal song that convinces with an unforgettable chorus.

The band closes the concert with two energizing performances of their classics "Герой асфальта" or “Hero Of Asphalt” and "Улица роз" or “Rose Street” and you don’t even recognize that the band is playing in 2012 and not in 1987 anymore. The more recent members perform the songs as if they were their own and as if they had just written them a few days ago and were overtly enthusiastic to expose their new works to the fans for a very first time. Just to give you an idea, the new singer was eight years old when the original "Герой асфальта" or “Hero Of Asphalt” record was released in a slowly dying Soviet Union and it’s incredible how he manages to perform the song as good as the original singer.

After nearly two hours of powerful live music the band leaves only to come back to perform the final encore "Дай жару!" or “Kick Some Ass!” from the milestone record "Игра с огнём" or “Play With Fire”. In the beginning, I was a little disappointed because I was expecting a performance of an epic classic such as "Волонтёр" or “Volunteer”, "Баллада о древнерусском воине" or “The Ballad Of An Ancient Russian Warrior” or ""Игра с огнём"" or “Play with Fire” which is undoubtedly one of the best heavy metal songs ever written. The amazing thing is that the band doesn’t even need to play these central milestones to convince me and make their fans go mad. Their back catalogue is strong enough to vary their set lists all the time. The closer easily beats the original studio version by far. It’s this live version that made me rediscover and fully enjoy this track that hadn’t really been on my map before. Needless to say that I think that the new live version is by far the best of this song.

After two incredible hours of energy, pleasure and technical ecstasy, Aria leaves the stage and has once again carved its legendary status in stone. These guys are the living proof that heavy metal isn’t dead and still relevant in 2012. Go and get this package and feel what heavy metal is all about.

Originally written for The Metal Observer