Metal Majesty-This Is Not A Drill
© 2004 Lion Music
Dead Heart Beating-New Blood
© 2004 Songhaus Music Group
Reviewed by Dave Palmer
Never judge a book by the cover. As a matter of fact, don't judge an album by the cover either. I looked at this album cover for Metal Majesty's 'This is not a Drill' and didn't quite know what to expect. After spinning this bad boy I really didn't expect what I got either. This band reminds me of Queen slammed together with say, Whitesnake maybe. The band have the ability to pull off those 'A Day At The Opera' vocals that Queen is so known for. This is no surprise due to the fact that noneother than Dutch artist Valensia is the main songwriter here. Absolutely amazing. Amazing piano work and alot of depth in the music. Alot of guitars too! There are some pretty interesting titles such as the opener 'Grim Reeper'. This song is one of those that opens up sounding like the mix I mentioned before. The track 'Metal Majesty' reminds me in tempo of some of the early Blue Murder stuff. By the third track 'The Extra Terrestrial' you start really noticing the Freddie Mercury style vocals. I'm a Mercury fan so that is fine with me. Most of this music is over the top melodic with a razor sharp edge. The band does have it's own identity though and that should be noted. If you want to catch a glimpse of something that I would consider to represent them without sounding too much like the influences take a listen to 'Magic Chemistry'. Very cool song similar to some of the 80's AOR with an updated sound. There are some songs that blend to form a bigger listening experience. It forms a musical journey, 'His Highness', 'Maiden Head', and 'License to Chill' fit well and define where the band is at in their songwriting ability. The latter track here and there reminds me vocally of 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. One of my favorites due to it's very melodic nature and memorable choruses is 'Everytime It Rains Again'. If it were a different era, this tune would be huge on radio. Hell, give it a chance and it still would be. Now remember I mentioned Whitesnake? The tempo of 'Deborah' will have you thinking 'Is This Love' although the tempo is where the similarities start and end. That familiar bass line will have you thinking though. This release via Lion Music will have 4 tracks not on the Japanese import and should be available via Amazon.com here in the States. Valensia has pulled off nothing short of a masterpiece here. He is known in other parts of the world, and hopefully with this release he will be better known in the States. An astonishing achievement to say the least.
Overall
It's hard to put in words just how good this album really is. If you like it served up via Queen at their best with a touch of some other familiar influences, you have to run out and get this one. I had to go with it for Pick of the month and have to once again highly recommend it to you here. Very solid and repeat listen oriented stuff here!
Questions or Comments? Email Dave by clicking here.
Reviewed by Dave Palmer
Looking back at influential albums of the past, you would have to include the great debut album from Airborne. So what exactly does that have to do with this release? Quite a bit actually. David Zychek, Guitarist and Vocalist not to mention songwriter was a part of that magic. Zychek co-wrote 5 songs on the album with the now famous Beau Hill who was known throughout the 80's for his producing talent. He remained busy after the Airborne album and later helped in production with good friend David Prate who some will remember for his production on Dream Theater's 'Images and Words'. Although Zychek wasn't involved with that project that I know of, he did help out Prater with the 'Feeding Off The Mojo' album from Night Ranger. Well, we like David Zychek behind the microphone and guitar. Our wish comes true with his latest band Dead Heart Beating. The band are Blues based Rock with an edge. There is no denying after listening to this album why people dig Zychek's work. Now I wouldn't classify this album as a blues album at all, but it is definitely one of the ingredients in the recipe, especially in the vocal areas in my opinion. There is a good grind going in the guitar parts especially on tracks such as 'New Blood', 'Beauty', and 'Miss Fortune'. If you are looking for a cool groove, 'Dragonfire', 'Motherlode' with it's killer guitar sound, and 'Evil Twin' which in a way has a classic ZZ Top sound. Probably my favorite track is 'Painkiller'. Zychek has captured some truly amazing sound in the guitar and bass areas throughout the album and this track exemplifies this. Rounding out this album is the rocker 'Soul Freak' and the moody sounding 'State of Blues'. This album provides a great and interesting listen. It is really hard to compare these guys to anybody else. It's hard rock with it's own flair. With so many clone bands out there trying to cash in, it's nice to catch an honest release where the artist allows his creativity to flow and writes from the heart which is what I think happened here. If you haven't heard Zychek and want to pick up something very cool, I think most will be happy with this particular release. A little something for everybody and most of it's heavy.
Overall
A definite veteran hard at work here. The sound of this album is intense and sounds great. I like the flair put on the writing. It's part blues, part hard rock, with a mysterious dark edge as well. Lots of groove oriented stuff here that will please fans of the hard rock spectrum. I recommend this title and am glad to see Dave Zychek churning out the tunes again. Good stuff!
Questions or Comments? Email Dave by clicking here.
