JUSTIN’S ROCK
REVIEWS W/C 16/5/05
ANTIQUUS /
RAMAYANA
Antiquus are a Five piece
Progressive Metal band from Vancouver, Canada, their sound is similar to early
Queensryche and Dream Theater with a bit of Malmsteen’s
Rising Force mixed in fro good measure and despite this being their first CD
it’s very ambitious and
exceptionally good.
Both the musical and lyrical standards are set very high and
they pull this off with such dexterity it just has to be heard to believe. The twin guitars are prevalent
throughout but that doesn’t mean its heads down all the way because there are
lots of dynamic on offer here and the six parts, 30 minute plus title track is
based upon Hindu mythology and tells the story to great effect. The other songs subject matter ranges
from Science Fiction, “Shapeshifter” to Historic
events, “
This is a very
ambitious debut and well worth tracking down, if you would like a copy
go to the bands website below. I have a feeling this will be worth a
fortune in a few years.
WEBSITE http://www.antiquus.net/
DOWNLOAD
“Empires Rising” from the site
above
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 60 mins + 10
TRACKS
BETZEFER / DOWN
LOW
Israel isn’t exactly known for its Metal, is it but all this
is about to change with the release of the bands debut for Roadrunner and a more
fierce piece of Modern Rock you wont find this side of the new System Of A Down
CD.
The band are self confessed Sepultura and Pantera fans and if
your going to be influenced by anyone it may as well be by the best in the business. The guitars are razor sharp and the
double bass drums would give anyone a pounding headache, add to this a vocalist
who sounds a bit like Dez from Coal chamber at times
and what you have is a winning combination. All the songs are as tight as the
proverbial ducks rear the best of the bunch being “Fu**ing Rock N Roll, “Down Low” and the 6 and a half minute epic
“Black Inside”.
This puts
WEBSITE http://www.betzefer.com/ & http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/
DOWNLOAD
“Fu**ing Rock N Roll
DOWNLOAD LINK
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 37 mins + 10
TRACKS
IVORY KNIGHT / UNCONSCIENCE
If you liked early Iron Maiden with Di Anno, or the Blaze era, you
will love this Power Metal band from
From the first track to the last the band Rock out with a
vengeance and take no prisoners, this is quality Metal with a capitol M. The Maiden tag is well deserved and they
do say that imitation is a sincere form of flattery. The press release say’s “Ivory Knight is
WEBSITE http://www.ivoryknight.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 50 mins + 10
TRACKS
IOMMI /
FUSED
Lets face it, without Tony Iommi
the world of Rock and Metal would be a very different indeed, whole Genre’s
would not exist, half the bands we know and love would be very different or not
exist at all, so when the Master of the Riff returns with a new album, everyone
sits up and listens.
Tony’s solo albums have been few and far between since
Sabbath imploded and patchy but I am please to say that he is back on form and
with Glen Hughes handling the vocals, this CD is set to rekindle the fire that
still burns inside. Tony still
knows how to pull out those killer riffs and with Glen’s soulful vocal style
this is a very stylish album.
Tracks like “Dopamine” and “Saviour Of The Real” don’t come
along every day and are so catchy
that once you hear them you cant get them out of your head and when you hear the
lumbering giant that is “Grace” and “I Go Insane” you will realise how much you
missed those Iommi riffs.
WEBSITE http://www.iommi.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 50 mins + 10
TRACKS
