Cage9-Illuminator  ©2016 EMP Label Group
​Lots of good stuff coming out of the EMP Label Group. Cage9 is one of these artists that offer up a great diverse release. The band has been on the scene for quite a long time now and come across with very confident songwriting whether the finalized product is heavy or a bit more melodic. I found 'Illuminator' to be pretty consistent with a good listen start to end. The band has a bit more modern sound, but in my opinion definitely has quite a bit of crossover appeal to fans in other areas of the metal and rock genre. Very easy album to get back into time and time again . Easy recommend!
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Kissin' Dynamite-Generation Goodbye    ©2016 AFM Records 
​Been following this band for a few albums now and really like their sound. It is also fun to listen to their light hearted approach to their subject material. 'Generation Goodbye' speaks volumes about the society we live in today. Good example of their approach is the video for the track 'Hashtag Your Life'. So true. Good rock anthems with some equally good melodic stuff. In my opinion this band doesn't disappoint. There is also a new video for the melodic 'If Clocks Were Running Backwards, that will be linked below. Another great album from a very cool hard rock band! 
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Monument-Hair of the Dog  ©2016 Roar of Angels Records
​If you are into the classic sounds of the NWOBHM movement from decades ago, you owe it to yourself to check out Monument. Traditional metal sounds that are very reminiscent in my opinion to Iron Maiden in their mid 80's era. At times I kept having Lizzy Borden pop into my mind while listening to this. It's a very fun album to listen to and comes across as being much more than just nostalgia. With so many mutations in the genre in today's scene, it's great to get a huge dose of metal the way it was played decades ago. Worth mentioning that a couple of these guys were once in White Wizzard.
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ToxicRose-Total Tranquility   ©2016 Burning Skull Records
​I'll be honest. What caught my eye with this band initially was the image. Kind of a mix of early W.A.S.P. and early Motley Crue. Good times back then. Upon picking up this album, it did take a couple of listens to really sink in. The sound is metal at its core. Good flash and pounding rhythms. After a few listens this album really started to gel with me. So my advice would be to stick with it. We never breeze albums here at the Resource and 'Total Tranquility' is a prime example of why we don't.  A quick listen would have been a disservice to what turned out to be a really good record.  Solid!
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Silvertung-Out of the Box   ©2016 Pavement Entertainment
​Second release for us reviewing this artist. I remember liking 'Devil's in the Details', so we were eager to see what this ep contained. What you get here is more good modern hard rock with some traditional influences. There are heavier moments mixed with some more melodic tunes as well. What you get overall is a memorable listen which is important. You really could take just about any song from this straight to radio and have success with it. There are 6 total tracks with a total running time of around 21 minutes. Even  though it's short, it is definitely satisfying! Looking forward to more! 
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