Saint Deamon: Pandeamonium.
Great, melodic Power Metal from Sweden. The mesmerizingly beautiful titletrack is pure magic.

Crashdïet: Rest In Sleaze
I finally got around to check out Rest In Sleaze, and what an amazing album! One of these rare releases where nothing seems out of place. Songs like Queen Obscene/69 Shots, It's A Miracle and Out Of Line just make me spin this disc again and again.

Manowar: Thunder In The Sky (EP)
Very promising new single from the Metal Kings. To record the song Father in 16 different languages does seem a bit silly, to be honest, and while it's fun to hear Eric Addams sing in Finnish or Japanese, once I heard the songs once, I ain't coming back for seconds. On the contrary, the other new songs are completely kick-ass! Thunder In The Sky is a potent rocker with a great, diverse structure. Let The Gods Decide is a powerhouse of a song, with the classic Manowar drive to it. There's a vintage feeling to this track, that sends my thoughts back to albums like Sign Of The Hammer or even Battle Hymns. The "Metal" version of The Crown And The Ring is too similar to the original to justify a new release (also, if this is the Metal version, what musical style is the old version?). A single to raise the expectations for the next Manowar album!

Enforcer: Into The Night
Brilliant old-school Metal. A charming, energetic trip back to the 80's with a young fit band. Displaying duelling guitars, passionate vocals, and quite original basslines, Into The Night won me over immediately, and has proven to be quite addicting! A pleasant surprise!

Powerwolf: Bible Of The Beast
Weird but strangely appealing, Germany's Powerwolf mix vampire-themed horror-inspired keyboards with hard-hitting 80's Metal. There's something in their ground-structures, which reminds me a bit of Accept, which is about the biggest compliment any band could get from me. It is also pretty evident that the band owns an Iron Maiden album or two. Totally catchy, melodic and dramatic, Powerwolf have managed to create a formula more or less their own. 
Crashdïet: Caught In Despair (demo song)
A little taste of the new Crashdïet line up featuring singer Simon Cruz. I can only say I'm in love with this song, and the new guy totally passes the test. He has a slightly more aggressive and highpitched approach than Olliver Twisted and fit the band perfectly.  

Grand Magus: Iron Will
Doom-laden metal with a healthy dose of melody. Singer JB's voice is emotional and personal. A perfect marriage of melancholy and power.

Hysterica: Metalwar
Female "True Metal" from Sweden. A fun but not fantastic album, with some rather enjoyable tunes, like Halloween, Girls Made Of Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal Man (hmm.can you tell what kind of music these girls really, really want to be associated with?).

Riot: Thundersteel
So many people recommended me to check this out, and they were right: it is an album right up my alley! Reminds me of a mix of the two great bands, Heaven's Gate and Stormwitch.

Written by Nina
Monday, July 27, 2009