Takida-All Turns Red ©2014 Se7en Records
Takida has been around for a bit now and has been on my radar for a little over a year now. The band has a more modern sound with a very good amount of melody throughout the album. This album to me is complete in terms of quality. I have liked most of what I have heard from the back catalog. There are great songs on most records, with a bit of filler here and there. This album is very good start to finish. The heavier stuff is equally as good as the lighter and the lighter to me has always been one of their strongest areas musically. Would love to see this band a bit more known domestically. Solid!
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Grenouer-Blood on the Face ©2014 Mausoleum Records
It's hard to believe that Russian based modern rock band Grenouer used to be an extreme death metal band. I went back and listened to the older stuff, and they indeed were. Now days the band is much more melodic with good clean vocal work. I found most of this album to be instantly memorable and pretty infectious. The band still seem a little dark, but this all seems to be a good direction for the band. Apparently the band will be working on new stuff soon. Makes the wait much shorter as I quite like what they did with 'Blood on the Face'. The band made quite a few videos for this release on Youtube.
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Radium Valley-Tales From the Apocalypse ©2014 Pavement Entertainment
Fairly new French band that combine a variety of sounds into their music. You get a little Gothic, Rock, and electronic mixed together in a fairly dark sound overall. As the title of the album suggests, the content is in an apocalyptic scenario and the music matches very well to this feel. I didn't find much here that I would classify as catchy as this is geared more towards the feel that bands like Type O Negative embraced. Even though the album isn't as 'catchy' as other Gothic bands, I found this album to be fairly interesting with some really cool soundscapes. For fans of more modern heavy music.
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Uriah Heep-Outsider ©2014 Frontiers Records
It's amazing how long this band has been around. These guys were one of the early bands that I cut my metal teeth on with their 'Abominog' album. This album to me is nothing like that album. 'Outsider' has a very classic feel to it in my opinion. I hadn't been paying much attention to the band for some reason more recently, but after hearing the track 'One Minute' I was in. Starts melodic and then rocks out. As a matter of fact, this is a very guitar driven album with some great riffs. Other than the track mentioned and the way it starts, this album is a pure rock record with a very vintage feel. Good job!
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Elegantly Wasted-The Dog Years ©2013 Flaco Music
Based out of Los Angeles, Elegantly Wasted offered up 'The Dog Years' in late 2013. The band are based in a basic rock sound that has been prevalent for many years now. The music to me is pretty smooth and doesn't go for a lot of flash as some other acts do. This band plays it the old school way. As trends come and go, there is a safety in playing your music in this fashion. Write good songs and don't put yourself into a corner by being the flavor of the day. Elegantly Wasted has a decade behind them now and if they keep true to themselves, will be around for a long time to come. Good record!
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