Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Tara Lynch, Waxpanel, Toby Hitchcock, Iron Savior, and Stahlmann

Index

The debut album from U.S. musician Tara Lynch is upon us. Tara's music is in a fairly traditional metal vein with a decent amount of power. Lynch handles guitars and vocals and has a decent amount of contributing guests that are respected in the music world. I'm sure this is an absolute honor to have these contributions to a very good record. The music for the most part is disciplined and heavy. Not sure of those two words should go together in metal music, but it's the truth here. There are a few instrumentals here and they do showcase her talent, but it isn't some overdone noodle-fest as you hear sometimes on records. The instrumental tracks carry themselves well and stand on not having to get carried away. It's a great approach in my opinion. The rest of the music is equally well done. This is a very good debut album with a lot of substance!

Release Date: March 1, 2019

Waxpanel is based out of San Antonio, Texas and plays a more modern sounding alternative grunge style with Christian influences. The album starts out pretty heavy but does find balance with more melodic stuff as you progress through your listen. There is a fairly catchy feel to most of what is here. Fans of more modern bands like Flaw or many others on the Pavement roster will probably be interested in this band. To date, this will be the band's second full length album with there also being an e.p. early on. The album will drop later this month and given proper attention, could do well as there is some decent stuff that will appeal to different types of fans. What is also cool in my opinion is the more positive approach to the lyrics and the Christian influence. There is an awful lot of negativity out there. This is an album that can brighten your day!

Release Date: February 22, 2019

Pride of Lions frontman Toby Hitchcock keeps busy as evidenced by this new solo effort 'Reckoning' and the quality of the material on it. With Pride of Lions in the middle of a small break, it was a natural time to get this music out to his fans. Musically, it's what you would expect as he fits into the genre well and has become a favorite of many. The music is bold and consistent. This is a very good record from the beginning to the end. A good melodic rock record that at times has some punch to it and at other times lots of melody and a great deal of finesse. I've always felt that this guy has a very powerful voice and that is obvious with Jim Peterik wanting to have him front Pride of Lions. It's obvious as well that he is a really good songwriter as well. Once again, another good record that fits the Frontiers Records catalog very well. Easy recommend to melodic rock fans!

Release Date: January 25, 2019

One thing that occurred to me while checking out the latest album from Iron Savior is just how important this band has become in the power metal genre. I have been listening to them since the debut album and as they say, time keeps moving. The band now have a pretty sizable catalog and the consistency from album to album is quite astonishing. This record is exactly what you would expect from the band. It's heavy, has great choruses, and the musicianship is top notch as usual. Subject wise it's always fun to see where the band takes things from album to album. There is always a strong sci-fi element to each recording and it is no different here. The album is well done as is the case always. It doesn't reinvent the band's sound in any way, but that is why we love these guys. They are a safe bet that always deliver! For fans that lean to the heavier side of metal!

Release Date: March 8, 2019

For those of you that like the German NDH scene, the latest from Stahlmann will be a treat. For those unaware of what the NDH scene is, think bands like Rammstein, Megaherz, and Eisbrecher among others. Stahlmann is an important element of that scene. The music is typically vocalized in the German language and has many different elements such as guitar drive, electronica, etc. The music can be quite catchy as it is on this new album and has a fair amount of flash in the playing. Stage presence is a pretty big deal with Stahlmann. While I haven't been able to take part in the live experience, mostly due to proximity, I hear this band is really good that way. This album will have most appeal to a certain audience as you would suspect. The language barrier can sometimes be an issue, but overall, I think they do a really good job and this is never an issue with me.

Release Date: March 22, 2019