Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Dee Snider, Kissin' Dynamite, U.D.O., Maxxwell, and Cultural Warfare

Index

It's good to hear from Dee Snider again. The music on this album is definitely heavy with some excellent riffing going on. Jamey Jasta was very involved in this record and the feel of the album in ways leans a bit more modern. Snider adds in his familiar vocals which adds a decent punch. Consistency is one of the albums biggest attributes. I found my listen to never need interrupting due to skipping tracks. This is an album that you can start and listen to it in its entirety. As a matter of fact, I listened to it back to back many times as it is a very fun and headbanging style of record. To date in 2018, this is one of my personal favorites. Dee took up the fight back in the 80's with the PRMC, and once again takes up the fight 'For the Love of Metal'! If you are a fan of Snider and his music, this really is a must have. To me, it is metal bliss! Essential!

Release Date: July 27, 2018

This band has really been offering up some good material on a regular basis. My intro to the band was 2012's 'Money, Sex and Power' and I have been following ever since. The band continue to evolve with each release and I feel that they are pretty consistent. This new record is written in the same formula as previous efforts and contains plenty of good material. The album is represented by a couple of videos via Youtube with 'I've Got the Fire' and 'You're Not Alone'. For those unfamiliar, the band plays a hard rock style with a bit of a glam feel to it. Once again, this album offers a lot of very memorable songs that have a sing-a-long type of characteristic to them. For fans who are looking for some familiar traditional sounds of years gone by, bands like Kissin' Dynamite fill that void and fill it very well. This is a very good record and another easy recommend!

Release Date: July 6, 2018

You really can't go wrong with U.D.O. There is a very big catalog of albums to this point and in terms of style, you always know what to expect. With Udo being the frontman of Accept, there will always be comparisons which is only natural. I have been enjoying this album a hell of a lot. Maybe it's just my ear. but I hear some of the classic Accept sounds here. For instance, 'Make the Move' reminded me in ways of 'Living for Tonite' from the 'Metal Heart' album. The back catalog is all good, but you have those albums that may just shine a bit brighter, and to me, this is one of those albums. I think for those fans that were fans of Udo earlier in his career, you will probably really like this record quite a bit. It's a straight forward traditional metal record with some familiar moments. It's easy to trust U.D.O. as this band has been very consistent through the years!

Release Date: August 31, 2018

I'm a big fan of these bands that come out of Switzerland. For whatever reason, I had heard of Maxxwell, but up until now had not taken the opportunity to check them out until now. I have to say I am really glad I did as I have been listening to their new and fourth album 'Metalized' a lot. I checked out the lyric video for the title track and it is quite clever in it's lyrical approach. I will let you the fans check that out for yourself. The band apparently have gone a bit heavier in their direction. I went back and listened to some of the bands earlier material and do agree that they turned it up a notch in terms of intensity. I also think this is without a doubt the bands best material. There is a very confident feel to this album and also some crossover appeal. Fans of more modern metal will probably dig this album a lot as well. Another favorite of mine in 2018!

Release Date: September 21, 2018

We've been able to review a few thrash records recently and we get another from Cultural Warfare. What I like about 'Warmageddon' by the Bay area thrashers Cultural Warfare is that it has a classic thrash sound to it. I kept listening to the album trying to pin down who it reminded me of and two bands came to mind. Earlier Metal Church and Exodus. The band although not decades old have hit on a sound that has been missing. A good solid riff heavy sound with decent vocals. I'm personally not a fan of the growlers and this band hits it out of the park musically as well as getting it right on vocals. I have found a few of these recent thrash albums to be quite good, almost a return to roots. This is very welcome as I can still listen to this sound all of these years later. Intense record with thought provoking subject material. Excellent stuff and easy recommend!

Release Date: September 14, 2018