Reviews – Audio

Starring Janet Leigh: Spectrum

Yeah, we get it, you deathcore bands sure can play, but would it kill you to dial down the ostentatious bursts of technical dexterity enough to a) give us a breather and b) try to come up with a passage that we can actually remember?

Sons of Seasons: Gods of Vermin

To call Sons of Seasons’ debut prog/power would be accurate but vague. Saying Gods of Vermin sounds like a fusion of inspirations from Savatage to Dream Theater and Therion would get it a little closer.

Persona Non Grata: Shade In The Light

It appears that Greece is quickly becoming a new breeding ground of quality original progressive metal thanks to the likes of Mindflow, Fragile Vastness, etc. And now with Persona Non Grata now signed on with the great prog label Sensory, this quintet has created a succint blend of heavy prog metal…

High Spirits: 4 song demo 2009

This four track demo EP is pure 80’s metal. It sounds to me like the early output of Scotland’s Heavy Pettin’ fronted by a singer that sounds somewhat similar to Kevin Griffiths of the NWOBHM band Briar.

Obscura: Cosmogenesis

Munich, Germany’s tech metal mastermind Steffen Kummerer returns in 2009 with his band Obscura’s sophomore album Cosmogenisis. With a few member changes and additional set backs now behind him, he now comes adorned with former members of Necrophagist and ex -Pesitlence bass extraordinaire Jeroen Paul Thesseling.

Hooded Menace: Fulfill The Curse

Known for their decidedly old school style death metal releases – we’re talking in the vein of Impetigo, (the Canadian) Slaughter and Repulsion here folks – it makes total sense that this album could have only come out on Razorback Records.

Lacuna Coil: Shallow Life

Perhaps a surprise to no one who has been following the band over the past few years, Lacuna Coil’s Shallow Life is an interesting step for the band but showcases a bland end result that dilutes the possibilities of the stylistic shift.

Cauldron: Chained to the Nite

Having grown up on metal in Canada during the 1980s, the first thought that springs to mind upon hearing the debut album by Toronto trio Cauldron is, why in the hell couldn’t these guys have been around 24, 25 years ago?