JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C
21/4/08
HELLACOPTERS / HEAD OFF
This is the Hellacopters final album and I for one will
greatly miss the riff driven, melodic Rock ‘N’ Roll sound that they have become
synonymous with, it started off as a side project by ex Entombed drummer and
Dregan from the Backyard Babies and I am very suppressed that they never got
bigger than they are.
There is nothing new or surprising on here but that’s not what the
Hellacopters are about, they just want to play, good time, high energy Rock that
was inspired by the Stooges and they succeeded and then some. The guys always new how to pen a good
tune and the quality of the song writing was always set to maximum as the lead
off track “(I’m) Watching You” demonstrates aptly and it doest stop there,
listen to “In The Sign Of The Octopus”, “Veronica Lake” and “I Just Don’t Know
About Girls” and you can see why these guys are the kings of the 3 minute
songs.
As usual there is not a duff track on here and only one
thing puzzles me, why were the Hellacopters so criminally ignored when they
deserved so much more, please go and buy this CD, you wont regret it, I defy
anyone to listen to this CD and NOT like it, I for one will miss the
Hellacopters greatly but at least with have 9 excellent albums to keep us going.A
WEBSITE http://www.hellacopters.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 42 GLORIOUS mins + 14
TRACKS
First time I heard the track”Buried In Black” I thought to myself “that sounds a
lot like Crowbar with Hardcore influences) and sure enough it was, the band
features Kirk Windstein of Down/Crowbar (Vocals &
Guitars) and Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed/Icepick (Vocals) and Jamey is a big Crowbar fan
and jumped at the chance to work with Kirk and the result is Kingdom Of
Sorrow.
The mix of the two bands works really well with aggression
of Hatebreed coupled with the Haunting quality of
Crowbar, the songs are played with such passion and conviction you can tell this
side project is a labour of love, how Kirk fitted writing and recording this in
with the hectic schedule of Crowbar and Down is a small miracle but I for one am
glad they managed it songs like
“Hear This Prayer For Her”, “Piece It All Back Together” where the Crowbar
influences are very noticeable and the outstanding “Screaming At The Sky”
deserve to be heard by all Metal fans.
If you like Crowbar / Down or Hatebreed you
cant fail to like and be impressed by this praiseworthy CD, also listen out for:
“Demon Eyes”, the slower paced “With Unspoken Words”, ”Lead Astray The Ghosts”
and “Free The Fallen”.
This is without doubt a contender for one of the best albums
of 2008 and I whole heartedly recommend this to all Metal fans and a well
deserved album of the week.
ESSENTIAL BUY
WEBSITE http://www.myspace.com/kingdomofsorrow
& http://www.relapse.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 39 mins + 11 GLORIOUS
TRACKS
KALMAH / FOR THE REVOLUTION
This is the 5th album from Finnish Melodic Death
Metal band Kalmah and I’m glad to say their usual high
standard is maintained on this superb album.
Musically they are in the same vein as Hypocrisy and Soilwork with a bit of fellow Finn’s Korpiklaani thrown in for good reassure, listening to the CD
is a pure joy, the mix of the gruff Death Metal vocals contrasts very nicely
with the melodic keyboard touches and the excellent guitar work. The melodies of the keyboards are very
prevalent and help rise the songs from the test of the pack, check out “Towards
The Sky” or “Dead Man’s Shadow” for proof. Also listen out for: “Wing’s Of
Blackening”, the terrific title track “For The
Revolution” and the pounding Metallicness of “Coward”,
you know I will be playing this to Death on HFM.
If you haven’t come across this band before I can strongly
recommend this album but be warned, you will find the uncontrollable urge to
purchase their entire back catalogue, yes it’s that
good.
WEBSITE http://www.kalmah.com/ & http://www.spinefarm.fi/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 44 mins + 9 MELODIC DEATH
TRACKS