Delain – We Are The Others
To start, some context: it’s rare when an album from within the amorphous power/gothic/symphonic/what-have-you metal category manages to keep my attention these days. I…
Sensory
Voyager – The Meaning of I
Basically if you threw Nevermore, Pagans Mind, Scar Symmetry in a blender with catchy 80s pop music your end mixture would be what you get with Voyager.
Cynthesis-DeEvolution
This album makes for perfect headphone action. A great well rounded production allows each instrument to be heard which enhances the listening enjoyment. You can easily lump this album in the prog/tech section but its so much more than just that. It is almost a prog rock groove laden album with atmosphere and movie soundtrack vibes with killer chops.
Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal by Jeff Wagner
Mean Deviation is an amazing compendium of everything weird in the world of metal—a book as grand and unlikely as the music it documents.
Creation’s End – A New Beginning
The whole band are great musicians whom have played in and around the New York area with such bands as Zandelle, Circle to Circle and James Labrie. With all this talent it is refreshing to hear that they don’t really focus so much on the actual technical wizardry of the musicianship but on the writing of great dark, brooding melodic songs and, with this being their debut, I am happy to say they nailed it.
Delain – Lucidity
As for the bulk of the original album, it’s what you would expect from a former member of Within Temptation (Westerholt): soaring vocals, bombastic guitar solos, pounding drums, lush keyboard and symphonic string arrangements. All played with subtlety and an attention to contrast that it seems only those in power or progressive metal remember any more
Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 4
Hellbound readers, we’re sure that by now you are all familiar with our Natalie Zed, right? Natalie was our big grand prize winner way back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?
So, after a long layoff (sorry NZ!), here is Natalie’s fourth installment (reviews #31 – 40 for those keeping stats at home) in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…
Haken – Aquarius
I am totally blown away. Haken is the best thing to happen to progressive metal in many, many years. Hailing from England, this relatively young band has unleashed a masterpiece.
Postcards From Natalie Zed, Part 2
Hellbound readers, remember Natalie Zed? Natalie was our big grand prize winner back in January, taking home more than 50 CDs + and shortly after she received her huge box ‘o CDs, Ms. Zed asked us over at Hellbound HQ if we’d be interested in running reviews of her winnings if she did postcard sized reviews of the albums. How could we say no?
So, without further adieu, here is Natalie’s second installment in what Hellbound likes to refer to as “Postcards From Natalie Zed”…
CONTEST: Blast Into 2010! Huge 40 CD+ Giveaway!
Let’s get 2010 underway with a bang! What better way to get your year off to a good start than with a contest. To help celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of both a new year and a new decade, we’ve asked some of our favourite labels to help us welcome 2010 and what a bang it is!
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