My Metal World So Far in 2009 ... Looking good!

I know January is not even over yet but I've already heard a few great 2009 metal releases and am looking forward to more in the coming months.

Some of the best 2009 albums I've heard so far:

Silverlane: My Inner Demon - I loved their debut album but this album is so much better!! An excellent release for Silverlane. Their webpage is finally updated so check them out - Ecki is rockin' a pretty wild, but nice, hair style - Silverlane Official Website
Dark Moor: Autumnal - Another great release by Dark Moor
Clairvoyants: Word to the Wise - A really, really good debut by this band and I look forward to hearing more from them
Burning Point: Empyre - A very decent Melodic Power Metal album from this Finnish band
Entwine: Painstained - Their best album since the release of "Gone" back in 2001

Albums I'm looking forward to so far in '09:

BLOODBOUND!!!! With Urban Breed back on vocals for their third release I can hardly wait to hear the new album "Tabula Rasa" which will be released in March or April of this year. Now if they would only come to Canada that would be a show I'd never miss but, sadly, rarely do any good bands come here to play. :(
Bloodbound Official Website

WIZARD: THOR - With an album name of "Thor" I'm pretty sure I'm going to like this album. This is a great heavy metal band out of Germany and I prefer their music over Manowar.

ISOLE: SILENT RUINS - I really enjoyed their last album, "Bliss of Solitude", so I'm looking forward to hearing their new album. They're a really good Epic Doom Metal band out of Sweden if you like that sort of music.

INMORIA - This band will be releasing their debut album some time this year and I can't wait. I've downloaded some songs from their website and I really love their music - dark heavy metal from Sweden. Really great stuff. Check them out!
Inmoria Official Webiste

That's it for now. When I hear of more new releases I'll write another post about them.


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Electronic Power Metal???

Huh?!?!?! Well damn, I just had to hear it and ... I like it!! The band is called Synthphonia Suprema and their one and only album is called Synthphony 001 which was released in 2006. They are supposed to release two more albums. The music connects metal to Italian and European electronic music, creating a new sort of sound the band calls “Synth Metal”. They play with no traditional bass, it's substituted by an electronic bass by keyboards and they use various effects on voice and guitars. It's really very different and I think, for some, this "Synth Metal" may be an acquired taste and some will just flat out hate it. Best song on the album - "Fatherland". Here's a link to their MySpace page where you can hear a few of their songs (too bad Fatherland isn't there). I hope you enjoy it but if not, well, what can I say. At least I can feel good about doing a little PR work for the band. :-)

www.myspace.com/synthphoniasuprema



\m/ Stay Metal \m/

My Top 20 Albums of 2008

So here it is, the end of 2008. Time to make my choices for Top 20 albums of the year. I started this list months ago then left it alone for a long time then tried working on it again a couple of months back but ended up discovering more great 2008 releases to add to it. A couple of things that surprised me while making this list - an album I was sure a few months back would end up in my Top 5 actually came in at #10 and one album I thought would at least make it to my Top 20 didn't make the list at all. Here are my choices:

1. Crystallion - Hattin'
2. Fireland - Fireland
3. Borealis - World of Silence
4. Memoira - Memoira
5. Incrave - Dead End
6. Pertness - Seven Times Eternity
7. Crom - Vengeance
8. Flowing Tears - Thy Kingdom Gone
9. Leif Edling - Songs of Torment - Songs of Joy
10. Blinded Rain - Destination Unknown
11. Crown of Glory - A Deep Breath of Life
12. Heavenwood - Redemption
13. Orden Ogan - Vale
14. Viron - Ferrum Gravis
15. Brainstorm - Downburst
16. Lacrimas Profundere - Songs for the Last View
17. Powerworld - Powerworld
18. Symphonity - Voice From the Silence
19. Saint Deamon - In Shadows Lost From the Brave
20. Cain's Dynasty - Legacy of Blood


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Top Albums of 2008

Oh my FREAKING gawd - I have one month to make my "Top Albums of 2008" list!!! Right now the song "Come Insanity" by Inmoria is playing - how very fitting for this moment. Arrrrgh!!!!!!

Great new band out of Sweden

Gotta love Sweden for having great talent such as the combined talents of the guys in a new band called Inmoria. Do you like Tad Morose, Morgana Lefay, God Awful Machine and Steel Attack? If you do then I'm sure you'll like this band which features members/ex-members of these bands. Really, really great heavy metal listening. Check them out at Inmoria @ Myspace or at their official website Inmoria Official Website where you can download their songs for free. Excellent music!


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Great Melodic Metal Discovery

If you like female-fronted melodic metal then you simply must listen to this new band I discovered recently. They're called Memoira and they're from Satakunta, Finland. I love Finland for all the great metal bands coming from there. What a country!!

Memoira play rather epic metal that has progressive melodic and gothic orchestral parts and they are known for strong melancholic melodies and heavy guitar walls - and I LOVE heavy guitars!

Here's the link to their MySpace page so give them a listen and see if you like ...

Memoira @ MySpace


\m/ Stay Metal \m/

Great Gothic Metal

Only when an album really makes an impression on me, after just one listen, is when I feel compelled to write about it so follows this review...

"Destination Unknown" is the sophomore album of the Finnish band Blinded Rain. Let me tell you, Finland really has some great gothic metal bands and Blinded Rain is one of the best I have ever heard. Well, at least this album is outstanding for me as I haven't heard their debut album entitled "Time?" ... yet.

When I first listened to this album I thought "this is exactly how I like to hear gothic metal". Vocalist Kaide has what I like to think of as the perfect vocals for a gothic metal band, deep and powerful and oh so easy to listen to. Personally, I believe the production on this album is very, very well done. The guitars, bass and drumming are excellent. I love to hear the drummer hammering the drums so I can really hear them rather than them being buried in the background. The guitar is strong along with powerful bass which is not buried in the background either. I'm not a huge fan of keyboards but on this album they are not the main focus and here the keys actually provide for a great atmospheric feel and make the songs so much better. Female backing vocals are present and add to the great atmosphere of this album as well.

I love every song on this album but the most standout track for me would be the last track on the album, Goodbye the Dreamer. It's one of those songs that mingles around in your head for long after you've heard it. When the album is finished playing I immediately want to listen to it again. I really can't say this for alot of albums in my collection. Am I picky? Damn right I am! I think I own only a handful of albums that make me want to listen to them twice (or more) in a row and "Blinded Rain - Destinatin Unknown" is certainly one of them. This album is definitely going to be in my Top 5 albums for 2008 and who knows, by the end of the year it may end up at No. 1 because, as of this date, I only really have one other strong contender for that conveted No. 1 spot.

My rating: 5/5

Blinded Rain @ MySpace


\m/ Stay Metal \m/