Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Lords Of Black, Cruzh, Adelitas Way, Lipz, & The End Machine

Index

'Mechanics Of Predacity' is the sixth studio album from power metal band Lords Of Black. For those who may be new to the band, Ronnie Romero fronts the band among many other projects and bands on the Frontiers Label. He is joined by bandmates Tony Hernando on guitars, Dani Criado on Bass, and Jo Nunez on drums. The music definitely has a strong power metal element to it mixed with some progressive transistions. The band definitely carry a bold, confident sound and the songwriting is quite strong in my opinion. This is evident in tracks like 'Let The Nightmare Come', 'Let It Burn', and one of my album favorites 'Can We Be Heroes Again'. The latter has one of the coolest vibes from any album released this year. I definitely had to grab a physical copy of this album. This is a banger of an album and an easy recommend!

Release Date: March 15, 2024

I have quite a few melodic hard rock bands on the Frontiers label that I try to follow fairly close. Cruzh is one of those. I don't consider this band to be pure AOR as they have a decent hard rock edge to them as well. There is no denying the melodic sounds on this album, but it really is a good fusion of both. This new record is fairly typical of what the band usually offer, but does show the band evolving a bit as well. For the most part the music is fairly straight forward and should please fans that like a good 80's influenced hard rock record. This album is also the second for frontman Anton Waghorn and shows the lineup intact from 'Tropical Thunder'. As far as content, plenty of rockers, but for those who dig melodic stuff, don't miss the atmospheric 'From Above'. Overall, another good record from the band. Good edge, good melody!

Release Date: March 22, 2024

This one slipped right through the cracks. I had been checking out singles as they come out, but didn't realize until recently that this album had already released. After finally checking out this album as a whole something really struck me. Although you can always tell that it's Adelitas Way, this band doesn't follow a formula. Each record has a unique feel to it and it shows the many sides that the band has. This record is catchy and fairly mainstream in ways. They never lose their edge. Just a great modern hard rock record. Even with the mention of a more modern feel, I always feel like this band is so infectious that there is an appeal to more than just modern audiences. It's great rock 'n roll and the band are definitely confident in trying things and they definitely work. One of my more favorite modern bands and feel like once again, they have done a great job!

Release Date: December 8, 2023

Sweden keeps churning the bands out. Lipz is a glam rock band that has actually been active for over a decade now although they are new to me. I've heard plenty of Glam Rock in my day and these guys are definitely interesting to me. If you were to pop this record on without any background you might not expect them to be glam. The opening track 'I'm Going Under' has a similar guitar vibe to Riot's 'Swords And Tequila'. It sounded fairly retro. From a visual standpoint, these guys are definitely glam. Also, vocals are right there with other bands of the genre, but the music to me sounds fairly mainstream and songs are really good. I liked the songs that rock, but also thought the more ballad oriented songs like 'I Would Die For You' or even 'Freak' were top notch as well. An album with very good balance that shows the quality this band is capable of. Excellent!

Release Date: March 15, 2024

I know that The End Machine is a band that a lot of fans look forward to, especially Dokken or Lynch Mob fans. The band did make a change this go around and used Girish Pradhan on lead vocals. Fans of Frontiers albums will know him from Girish and The Chronicles. The album has very good edge and Pradhan adds to that with his vocal style. The usually great musicianship shines through once again with Lynch and Pilson and Steve Brown is back again handling drums. In ways, The End Machine has reminded me of Dokken, but with the addition of Pradhan it may lean more towards Lynch Mob. One thing is for sure, the album is a banger and definitely should please fans of solid 80's hard rock. It will be interesting to see where the band goes with a 4th record. This one definitely packs a lot of punch in all areas. Solid hard rock record for sure!

Release Date: March 22, 2024