Even my five years old son knows who is Eddie and even further, he have several favorite Iron Maiden songs already. No better proof that Iron Maiden are living classics and definitively one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all times. And probably the only heavy metal band engaging three lead guitarist!! But this is a different story!
In September 2007, Iron Maiden announced the “Somewhere Back in Time World Tour”, which was tied to the DVD release of their “Live After Death” album – originally released in 1985. This tour led to the release of a new compilation album, entitled “Somewhere Back in Time”, which included a selection of tracks from their 1980 eponymous debut to 1988’s “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, as well as several live versions from “Live After Death”. The final leg of the tour included the band’s first ever appearances in Peru and Ecuador, as well as their return to Venezuela and New Zealand after 17 years. At their concert in São Paulo on 15 March, Dickinson announced on stage that it was the largest non-festival show of their career, with an overall attendance of 63,000 people.
At the 2009 BRIT Awards, the 34 years old Iron Maiden won the award for best British live act. Voted for by the public, the band won by a landslide. Read more Iron Maiden – Maiden England ’88 (2013)
2013
No Sun in San Francisco – Principles & particles (2013)
Very dark, very raw, technical and merciless, No Sun in San Francisco aren’t an American band, but a Swiss one and most of their debut album was recorded far away from the sunlight, down in an anti-nuclear shelter lost somewhere in Switzerland’s countryside. Without hanging tags, their sounds like a sick mixture of Neurosis, Isis, Converge, Cult of Luna and Meshuggah.
This new post-everything, but metal rooter scene it’s growing pretty fast, getting bigger and the Swiss scene seems to be one of the strongest. Impossible to label them, to define a genre, No Sun in San Francisco get inspired from the raw and contorted black metal butcheries up to complex and technical extreme metal, and form psychedelic and progressive flavors to shogazer contemplations. Unpolished, furious grinding to the ground passages are followed by quiet, still dark, but strangely beautiful, calm passages only to explode again with killer riffs and blood spitting deadly vocals. Read more No Sun in San Francisco – Principles & particles (2013)
ANiMAL – Mind Reader (Raptus Remix) Track and Music Video
ANiMAL is a three piece, bass-heavy EDM punk band from London that formed in 2012 with a residency on Modestep Radio and quickly moved to doing guest mixes for Radio 1Xtra, XFM, and Pulse.
After a European tour in the Summer of 2012, ANiMAL retreated to the studio to work on remixes, collaborations, and begin writing new material. Soon the band signed a publishing deal with EMI and took to the road again, for two trips around the UK. They finished the year releasing their first track, ‘I Am Fire’ on the EDM label 2 Much Bass Records, and the track was later featured in the Ministry of Sound Bass Annual 2013. ANiMAL recently performed a live session for broadcast on BBC.
Kicking off 2013, ANiMAL is stepping up their game for the major European festivals by releasing their debut music video “The Animal Cage” . On March 18, 2013, ANiMAL has released their latest Read more ANiMAL – Mind Reader (Raptus Remix) Track and Music Video
Queensryche: War in the Ryche of the Queen
Queensrÿche fans might be confused lately and the fan base seems split into two. We’re in the strange situation of “which is which and who is who” having a Queensrÿche A and a Queensrÿche B, both sides accusing each other of the worst.
“Frequency Unknown”, the new Queensryche album it’s due to release on April 23 on Deadline Music/Cleopatra Records. Actually one of the new Queensrÿche albums, the other one have no title yet and it’s recorded by “another” Queensrÿche. Sadly, two quite different bands running with the same name in two different directions.
“Frequency Unknown” featuring original Queensrÿche vocalist Geoff Tate along with an entirely new – all stars kind of – line-up consisting of Read more Queensryche: War in the Ryche of the Queen
Cathedral – The Last Spire (2013)
In February 2011, Cathedral announced that they will disband after one more album, entitled “The Last Spire”, which will be released in April 2013. Even further, they even played their official final show on December 3rd 2011.
Back then vocalist Lee Dorrian explained, “It’s simply time for us to bow out. Twenty one years is a very long time and it’s almost a miracle that we managed to come this far!.”
Honestly, I never was a huge doom metal supporter, nor Napalm Death fan back in their furious grindcore days. When Lee Dorrian left Napalm death in 1989 to form Cathedral with Mark ‘Griff’ Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) and Garry ‘Gaz’ Jennings (formerly of thrash metal upstarts Acid Reign), I wasn’t really interested. But I have to admit it, their 1991 debut album, “Forest of Equilibrium”, it’s one of its kind, something disturbing, extremely dark and uniquely heavy. Now, nine albums later, I hope that Lee Dorrian will have second thoughts and “The Last Spire” will be only a station, and not the final destination in the journey of Cathedral. Read more Cathedral – The Last Spire (2013)
Anthrax – Anthems, EP (2013)
My love for Anthrax started back in the mid 80’s with their murderous second album “Spreading the Disease”. Few years later, their killer “I’m the Man” (1987) literally changed my life and determined my taste in music. Anthrax is not a band, but an institution. Scott Ian is one of the Gods of Riffs while Charlie Benante is one of the Metal masterminds.
Now, honestly, back in 2010 when chief Joey Belladonna returned to Anthrax, I was pretty disappointed. On one hand I really love John Bush – great voice, great musician and contributed seriousely to the Anthrax machinery -, on the other hand, after all the ugly things Scott Ian and Charlie Benante revealed about Belladonna, I thought they will never sit in the same room again. But well, this is show-business, never say never, anything can happen. Belladonna was not so convincing throughout the Sonisphere Festival series where Anthrax performed along with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, but the 2011’s “Worship Music” was a 101% Anthrax album with a not bright, but fair Belladonna singing as back in the old days.
“Anthems” consist in 6 cover songs and the original album version, respectively a new remix of “Crawl” from their latest album. We’ve got here Rush, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Boston, Cheap Trick and Journey. Kind of surprisingly, no KISS track. But trust me, they did a killer job! Read more Anthrax – Anthems, EP (2013)
Depeche Mode – Delta Machine (2013)
Depeche Mode are back. Strangely, “Sounds of the Universe” feels like a million years away, although it was released in 2009, so, only four years ago. This is the final piece of the trilogy of records that Depeche Mode were doing with producer Ben Hillier. And the thirteenth studio album of the band, the first for their new label, Columbia Records, scheduled for release on 22 March 2013.
I started listening with interest DM only after their 93’s “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. Still, their first four albums are quite meaningless for me. And probably their latest two. From their 2005’s “Playing the Angel” stuck in my mind the fabulous cover of “John the Revelator” and the opening track, “A Pain That I’m Used To”. “Sounds of the Universe” was even less impressive, actually I can’t recall any song title from it, although, I remember it was dark and minimal. And dark and minimal it is “Delta Machine” as well. Read more Depeche Mode – Delta Machine (2013)
Josh Money – The Petrine Cross (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Josh Money took his first piano lesson at age 5 and later studied classical composition, guitar, and piano at Macon State. After hearing the music of producer BT, he learned that his true passion was producing behind a computer. With indie film and video game scoring already under his belt thanks to programs at Full Sail University and an audio engineer position at EA Games, Josh began producing full-time in 2010 out of his home studio in Orlando. Focusing on a darker, heavier side of electronic music, Josh experimented with elements of dubstep, metal, and advanced classical theory. This newer sound caught the ear of veteran UK producer Deekline, who immediately signed Josh’s first dubstep release to Sludge Records. Josh took the EDM world by storm with his single “Let Go With You”, which dominated Beatport’s Dubstep chart, staying at the #2 slot for 6 weeks. After remixing Celldweller’s “I Can’t Wait”, Josh Money has joined Celldweller’s FiXT label to continue his attack on the charts. “The Petrine Cross” is a sick, contorted, noisy, dubstep fueled EBM track. Read more Josh Money – The Petrine Cross (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Wildmen – Wildmen (2013)
Hippies are back and they seems furious. Punk-like furious. White Stripes fans will gonna love it.
Hailing from the heart of the old empire – Rome, Italy -, Wildmen is a duo made of Giacomo Mancini and Matteo Vallicelli. Their self-titled debut album was release on 14th March on Shit Music For Shit People. Ten pounding, raw sounding, unpolished garage rock with roots back to the 70s and both to hard rock and psychedelic flavoured experimental rock. Energetic, sometimes quite wild and violently noisy, but fun throughout. This is Rock’N’Roll on steroid or on any other illegal drug. Read more Wildmen – Wildmen (2013)
Lush Rimbaud and zZz – Split, The V’ll Series # 1 (2013)
If you’re looking for something different, the Italian fromSCRATCH Records just released on February 2013 a split EP with the Italian band Lush Rimbaud and the Dutch duo zZz.
The V’LL series is a 12” coloured vinyl series released with artwork by Nico Villani (a.k.a. V’ll), handmade serigraphy (ltd. 300 copies) and featuring two different bands each release. The vinyl cost 16€ – shipping costs included.
This is a short, but consistent incursion into the alternative/experimental area of music. While Lush Rimbaud building upon the solid ground of the 70’s experimental and psychedelic rock, easily related to Hawkwind or more recently to the sound and explorations of The Flaming Lips. On the other hand, zZz have a more dance oriented approach building edge-cutting dance tracks with twisted out noise layers. Feels like Joy Division on steroids and some dangerous experimental drugs!
Trust me, this is addictive, serious shit! Awesome! For real. Read more Lush Rimbaud and zZz – Split, The V’ll Series # 1 (2013)
