One year after their solid but not outstanding comeback record “Neighborhoods”, the American Pop Punk legends BLINK-182 offer their fans a small Christmas gift in form of the EP “Dogs Eating Dogs” that includes five brand new tracks. Beyong the simple but very stylish artwork, the band offers five rather soft and mellow tracks that could have also come from the members side projects such as ANGELS & AIRWAVES.

The opening track “When I Was Young” has some well done COLDPLAY harmonies in the beginning and also offers some harmonic keyboard sounds. The sound effects are also intriguing and the way the drums kick in is also very promising. Sadly, once the song truly kicks off, it turns out to be an innocent Pop Punk track similar to many tracks the band has offered before in its career.

“Dogs Eating Dogs” is another typical BLINK-182 track. It offers a solid performance by the two vocalists Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge while I prefer as usually the first one with his more distinctive and less whiny vocals. The chrous is simple but efficient and offers a vivid and rhythm orientated drumming that is very well performed by Travis Barker who’s without a doubt one of the best drummers of the genre.

“Disaster” is not that much of a disaster. It has a Pop vibe of the eighties and a few well done sound effects. It reminds me a little bit of the band’s success “Down” from their eponymous release that has come out ten years ago and that is still the best album of the band to me. This song here can’t beat the original and its outro is overlong and boring.

The next track is “Boxing Day” which is the song that I dislike the most on this EP. It’s one of those Pop Punk ballads with acoustic guitars which is a style I really can’t stand. The band has offered so many great ballads in form of “I’m With You” for example but this one is just ordinary and could also come from RISE AGAINST, SMASH MOUTH and similar bands.

The closing “Pretty Little Girl” is way better. It has once again some Pop and even New Wave vibes inspired by the music of the eighties. The track reminds me of a mixture of “Always” and “Down” and this release seems in general be inspired by the eponymous record and the last full length release. The song includes a short passage by rapper YELAWOLF. While many fans dislike the part that is a little bit out of rhythm, I like this little surprise because it sounds a little bit unconventional and courageous and makes this song one of the better ones on this release.

In the end, this EP is definitely for fans only. Those who liked the last two releases of the band and who don’t mind the side project ANGELS & AIRWAVES should give this release a few spins. Those who expect the band to return to their roots might be quite disappointed. Those who expect something similar or better than the last studio record might realize that these five songs aren’t bad at all but rather filler material. The decision to put this kind of music on a small EP instead of a whole record was a clever idea so that you can just take it or leave it. Personally, I would rather wait for the band’s next studio record or listen to their last two full length albums.  

(Online January 28, 2013)

DOCTOR MIDNIGHT & THE MERCY CULT is some sort of a Norwegian supergroup formed in 2009. It is composed by singer Hank von Helvete of old TURBONEGRO fame, bassist Tim Sköld who has already been part of KMFDM, MARILYN MANSON, MDFMK, SHOTGUN MESSIAH and SKOLD, guitar player Anders Odden from APOPTYGMA BERZERK, CADAVER, CELTIC FROST, MAGENTA and SATYRICON, one more guitar player called Audun Stengel who has also once been in APOPTYGMA BERZERK as well as in THE KOVENANT and finally we’ve got the drummer David Husvik who usually plays with EXTOL.

This mixture sounds quite intriguing and diversified but it ultimately isn’t and that’s where the main problem of this band lies in. DMTMC lack of creativity and diversity but they surely have their own sound. I would describe the overall sound as Industrial Metal with rather simplistic riffs and vocals that sound strangely modified by multiple effects which is probably due to the limited vocal range of Hank von Helvete. This kind of effects is intriguing for a few songs and works well in the dystopian up tempo rocker and title track “I Decalre: Treason” for example but in over eleven or up to fourteen songs if you got the limited edition, the whole thing gets quite redundant and too simplistic. It reminds me a little bit of the EMIGRATE project by Richard Z. Kruspe from RAMMSTEIN but I liked that project a little bit better because it had also calmer tracks on one side and a few great rock guitar solos on the other side which isn’t the case for DMTMC. The quite cold, direct and provocating lyrics and choruses as in “Glory (Throw The Axe)” are a positive factor and fit to the band’s attitude but can’t help the fact that this debut record here is rather mellow.  

My favourite songs on this release are first of all the slow “OK (We’re Just About To Die)” which has a very sad and depressive atmosphere that reminds me of some Doom or even Black Metal stuff if there weren’t the crunchy but this time also rather melodic vocals that even make this track something special and easily the best one on the record. Another highlight is the regular album closer “Victorious” that has some clear MINISTRY influences and comes along with a simplistic but very efficient and catchy chorus. This song would have been the best choice for a lead single in my opinion as it also has some well needed energy that many other tracks don’t have.

In the end, this record surely has its moments and any fan of bands such as EMIGRATE or MINISTRY should purchase this release. Fans of some of the member’s ex-bands should though take their time to check this kind of music out before blindly purchasing this release. It might probably rather please to fans of KMFDM or MARILYN MANSON but not to everybody who likes APOPTYGMA BERZERK or CELTIC FROST as this kind of music has nothing to do at all with this new project. In the end, this record happens to be enjoyable in little doses and I surely give it a few spins occasionally but I expected much more from this line-up after all.

(Online January 24, 2013)

HOLY KNIGHTS is a Symphonic Power Metal band hailing from Palermo, Sicily in Italy. After the band’s debut release, they’ve split up just to reunite recently and release this follow-up ten years after the band’s last sign of life. If one thinks about Italian Power Metal, bands such as RHAPSODY OF FIRE, VISION DIVINE, LABYRINTH or DOMINE come to my mind. This band hits exactly the same nerve with a neoclassical songwriting and a mixture of melodic up tempo tracks and more mid tempo paced pieces with some progressive approaches.

The band certainly doesn:t reinvent the genre and their record is a little bit too short with only about forty minutes of running time but they do what they can do best. The record is a diverting and refreshing dose of typical Italian Power Metal. As only truly negative point, I must though cite the band’s vocabulary skills. At first contact, it’s not that evident but a look on the booklet reveals many spelling and grammar mistakes in almost each song which is mildly amusing and especially not professional at all. Maybe these guys should think about singing in their mother’s tongue or even in japanese as they do in the exclusive bonus track “Resolution” which is a cover of the now split up Japanese pop band ROMANTIC MODE. While this song is rather ordinary, the Japanese lyrics have their flaws but sound good enough to me to be a better alternative to English texts.

In comparison to their genre colleagues, the band doesn’t sound too overloaded. Though there are emotional piano passages and balladesque moments on one side and more progressive passages with a few surprisng moments in form of electronic music, the band never forgets what the crowd likes and expects. The melodic guitar play with a few well done solos, the really fast but perfectly fitting drums and energizing high pitched vocals domiate all eigth songs. Fortunately, the band put no overlong ballad or senseless instrumental track on the record. Each one of the eight songs is actually quite appealing to me. As highlights I would cite the opener and the closer. “Mistery” is a fast feel good song with a very catchy chorus and great melodies. “The Turning To The Madness” has some well done classical orchestrations and builds up an epic cinematic atmosphere for a great ending.

Any fan of Italian Power Metal in the key of THY MAJESTIE for example should grab this entertaining release. Symphonic Metal fans should also like this but prefer more courageous bands such as THERION while fans of Progressive Metal might find this record too commercial after all and rather head for DREAM THEATER. It’s nothing new but better than many recently released overambitious projects from similar bands. From time to time, I really enjoy this fun ride of an album in between my many more progressive and avant-garde records I usually listen to.

(Online January 22, 2013)

LOUDNESS are a true Japanese Heavy Metal institution that never fails to deliver. “Eve To Dawn” is the band’s twenty-fourth full length release and marks their thirtieth anniversary at the same time.Let's add that the band's dawn of career hasn't arrived yet and that they are still more convincing than many similar bands of a younger age.

What these four guys deliver is energizing, technically well played and this time particularly guitar driven Heavy Metal with a few thrashier parts that vary between mid and up tempo numbers. This record includes no big experiments and no ballads but convinces with a very honest attitude. There are still a few imaginative moments on the record that are well integrated into the powerful tracks. The slight oriental sounds in the quite modern sounding opener “A Light In the Dark”, the Power Metal guitar chords in “Survivor” and the short electronic vibes in the rather traditional hard rock track “Keep You Burning” are some pleasant surprises.

Along a few very catchy songs which are the album highlights in the strong middle section with the diversified “Survivor”, “Keep You Burning” that includes the most original ideas of all tracks on the record without losing a charming old school attitude, the addicting “Gonna Do It My Way” that has an angy Punk Rock attitude and the literally crazy closer “Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!” that tells the story of an annoying neighbour, there are also a few less convincing tracks. One could cite the exchangeable “Pandora”, the somewhat uninspired instrumental track “Emotions” and a few passages in the record’s epic track “Comes The Dawn” that sounds too long and stretched in the end.

(Online January 21, 2013)

Usually, I’m not the biggest fan of old school Thrashy Black Metal in the key of BATHORY, CELTIC FROST, VENOM and so on, but this first demo recording from a young band hailing from Israel is actually a quite diverting release and offers some solid sounds of the underground.

The recording has a crunching vibe that could come straight from a dirty basement of the late eighties and gives an appropriate atmosphere to the three short tracks. The neckbreaking riffs are dark and hold between a mid tempo and slightly sped up pace. The drumming is tight and sounds very raw but still offers a few technical skills beneath the wall of noise. The bass is pumping in a very noisy way as well and has its shining moment at the beginning of the second track. The vocals are heavily blackened and give the songs a bleak atmosphere. They vary enough to combine elements of Black and Death Metal and it’s a little bit as if early BURZUM would meet early AMORPHIS. The truly well performed and melodic guitar solos surprise well and even show some glimpses of positive energy by creating a well done contrast with the rest.

The song that probably stands out the most is the opening title track. This is due to an original introduction that gives the first true Rock ‘n Roll anthem “Rock Around The Clock” by BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS a new and weirdly twisted touch that turns into slowed down sound effects and evil laughter before the true opener breaks loose. All three songs sound rather coherent if you would like to use a positive term or repetitive if you want to use a negative term. In my opinion, this is not a bad thing after all as it gives you a solid general idea of the band and works well for this first sign of life. On an actual full length album, more sound experiments such as in the opener would though be required to keep the attention high.

Genre fans should pick this release up and might be pleased by this pure old school outbreak of evil from an exotic country. Anybody else should do as I do and wait for a possible full length release to see what this band is really able to do. These three first songs are not stunning but solid enough to keep the band’s name on my mind for a while.

(Online January 20, 2013)