Skip Rock-Take It Or Leave It ©2015 Streetdog Records
Skip Rock is a hybrid of Metal and Country which is an interesting mix. It does both pretty well, but some Metal fans may not be particularly interested at first mention of the style. The album has a pretty cool vibe overall. There is a healthy dose of both styles, but it mixes surprisingly well. I'm a bit more laid back in my taste so I like to sample many different sounds. Guitar sound is fairly thick with a decent pounding rhythm. Good consistency overall. If you like any of what you hear, good bet you'll like most of it. If your tastes are a bit more to a traditional metal sound, you may want to pass. Cool record!
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Burning Point-Burning Point ©2015 AFM Records
Upon checking this release out, it struck me just how long it's been since we checked out Burning Point. This album is a good dose of Power Metal that features new vocalist, former Battle Beast singer Nitte Valo.The album consists of 5 new tracks and 6 re-recorded classics from previous albums. The way it is presented offers a pretty uniform feel. Not sure how fans will take re-records as some fans get a bit upset, but it all sounds pretty decent to me. The inclusion of the Kiss track 'I've Had Enough(Into the Fire)' was a nice addition to the album and a good way to close out.
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Cain's Offering-Stormcrow ©2015 Frontiers Records
Anything Timo Kotipelto is involved with usually interests me. Add in Jani Liimatainen, founder of Sonata Arctica and this is obviously a band to check out. Musically, it's not far off from the sound you would expect with the bands roster. Good power sound with alot of melody throughout. 'Stormcrow' is the band's second release. There are varying tempos with some much more frenzied such as 'I Will Build You A Rome' and then there's finesse such as 'Too Tired To Run'. Very good balance and very likeable songs. I'll be keeping an ear out on this band. Definitely for fans of Melodic Power Metal!
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Borealis-Purgatory ©2015 AFM Records
Quite surprised after hearing this band's sound that they were based out of Canada. The sound to me is much more European. Bit's of progressive mixed with melodic heavier metal. The music has a pretty thick heavy sound with a decent amount of melody fused in. Add in some depth and you have a good third outing from this solid band. The band will embark on a tour to support this release with Evergrey. Seems like a good combination in terms of styles. The listen is pretty uniform and has a bit of a modern edge to it. Definite power metal sound that has good depth. Solid!
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Iron Savior-Live At The Final Frontier ©2015 AFM Records
One of the bands that I follow from the European scene is Iron Savior. The band is very good and have released a good catalog of melodic power metal albums. Finally, we get the live experience. Being from the States, I haven't had a chance to see this band, so for me this is good as it gets for now. The track listing is good. The band have quite a bit to draw from for their live show at this point. The bands shows good energy as they play for their hometown crowd of Hamburg. I would love to check out the DVD as well, but didn't have it at the time of the review. Nonetheless, if you like this band, get this!
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