True Witness - The Human Condition

True Witness is new quartet from the Chicago area.  The band boasts that they are a pure metal band and a force to be reckoned with.  To be honest, I thought these were pretty bold statements from a new comer, and wondered if they could back it up.  If you look at the packaging of their debut CD The Human Condition, as well as the photo in the back booklet, you start to get a little concerned, because it wasn't much to shake a stick at.  I mean, I know most newer bands are on a budget, so rather than spending tons on the packaging, all they can do is just let the music do the talking, and talking it does.  I have to say I was very surprised by this one.  The band sounds good mixing the heavy with some intoxicating melodies.

The Human Condition is a 10 tracker, of the best that the band can offer.  The songs are catchy and stick with you.  The first track to grab me was the Disturbed-esque The Face of Evil.  It starts with a classic metal type riff ala Overkill, courtesy of guitarist Randy Gonnet.  After that, they kind of go into a Disturbed vibe with vocalist Allen James, evoking his best David Draiman.   The cool thing about this band, is that they have the ability to mold classic metal with the modern era.  Another standout track is the dark ballad Walking the Dead, which has a cool Nevermore feel to it.  Killer track.  All in all a solid release.  If I had one critique it would be that the production could be a little stronger, but that is about it.

Bottom Line: New Comers show that they can live up to their press release.  Solid metal release with a nice variety of tunes that will stick with you.

Standout Tracks: The Face of Evil, High Time, Walking With the Dead,Tell Me.

-Ragman was surprised by this one, in a good way.

Fastway - Eat Dog Eat

What ever happened to Fastway?  Good question.  The band that released one of my favorite sound-tracks of all time, for the cult classic movie Trick or Treat, has been absent from the scene for quite sometime.  To get you up to speed, they broke up in the early 90's and reformed about 5 years ago, but this time with an all new line up.  The only main stay in the band, of course, is former Motorhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke.  For this latest incarnation of the band, Eddie is joined by former Little Angels vocalist Toby Jepsen and drummer Matt E.  The band has just released their first album in over 20 years titled Eat Dog Eat.  Let's see if they's still got it.

Eat Dog Eat is an 11 track platter of classic hard rock with a bluesy edge.  The songs are basic hard rock, brought to life, by the soulful vocals of Jepsen.  Jepsen really injects alot of soul into these tracks, which makes for an interesting listen.  Check out the track Love I Need and you'll hear what I mean.  I have to admit, I was worried when I heard original vocalist Dave King wasn't with the band when they re-united, but Jepsen has put those worries to rest (Not real familiar with the Lea Heart era).  To be fair though, this is a totally different band.  The songs are not as heavy as they were back in the day, and really lean harder on the bluesy angle, than that of heavy metal.  A pretty solid release from start to end.  Not all of the songs will kick your ass, but there are enough on this CD to keep you interested.

Bottom Line:  Fastway resurfaces sounding older, while still remaining relevant.  A CD full of melodic blues rockers, with more hits than misses.

Standout Tracks:  Love I Need, Dead and Gone, On and On and Fade Out.

-Ragman says what he will.

Ignitor - Year of the Metal Tiger

Yeah, you know him as the lead vocalist from 80's rockers Dangerous Toys, but did you know that Jason McMaster also fronts a couple of other projects.  Jason McMaster is no stranger to the scene; he once fronted the iconic techno-thrash band Watchtower, as well as his band after DT, Broken Teeth and his newest endeavor Evil United.  Busy dude! Jason is one of those killer vocalists that just seems to fly under the radar.  He is a very versatile vocalist. in that he can sing the more melodic style of Dangerous Toys, as well as be able to turn it up a notch, and sing more metallic with a band like Ignitor.  Year of the Metal Tiger is the second release that McMaster has fronted for the band.  The sound is basic meat and potatoes classic metal.

Ignitor is rooted in classic metal with an up to date sound.  The songs are closely rooted in the vein of classic Judas Priest (Jason lets out some Halford-esque screams at times).  Year of the Tiger is a 7 track release that packs a nice punch of old school metal.  Tracks like Shadow of the Needle and Beast in Black will get the fist pumpin and head banging within seconds.  The lyrics are of a darker nature, which coincides with the feeling of some of the tunes.  There is a definite dark feel about this release.  Don't let that scare you off though, because like Mystic Prophecy, there are some nice melodies on this CD as well.  If you dig bands like Primal Fear and Brainstorm, then this one is right up your alley.

Bottom Line: Meat and potatoes metal.  Nothing fancy, just pure hard rocking tunes.  McMaster sounding masterful, singing some of the heaviest material I've heard his sing in a while.

Standout Tracks: Shadow of the Needle, Beast in Black, We Are Ignitor and Island of the Damned.

-Ragman thinks he needs to talk to Mr. McMaster.

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Holy shit, guitar lovers, Matthias Eklundh is a monster. Or should I have said "freak"?You never quite get used to the idea that there are some really amazing musicians in the world that most people will never hear of, simply because they're not in some high profile gig with a major pop star or tearing up the charts of some country's music industry. Of course, this is a terrible injustice, because I am a huge fan of amazing guitar and the kind of music that only the most talented artists are capable of creating outside the confines of the kind of musical supercomputer that substitutes for actual talent in the music business these days.

Such is the case with Swedish prodigies Matthias Eklundh, Christer Örtefors and Björn Fryklund, who collectively form Freak Kitchen. Relatively unknown outside of Europe, they have made some truly impressive music in the last few years. Their album Land of the Freaks was actually released in 2009, but has gotten re-released in late May this year so that others Americans may discover their talent.

The real star is Matthias, whose boyish looks and mannerisms onstage belie his musical sophistication. The man's a fucking monster on guitar, folks. And Land of the Freaks is a great showcase for these guys and their tongue in cheek metal. Matthias sings as well, ably delivering subversive lyrics over the satisfying metallic crunch with a Dave Mustaine growl - the album as a whole reminds me of Chris Poland's work on Damn the Machine or Return to Metalopolis only with the guitar taken to a higher level.

The Bottom Line: Matthias and company deliver a great metal album that comes a bit across as Frank Zappa meets Megadeth; virtuosic guitar driven metal that kicks ass without taking itself too seriously.

Tracks to Make You Start Searching YouTube for Live Freak Kitchen Footage: God Save the Spleen, Teargass Jazz, Honey, You're A Nazi, The Smell of Time

- Genghis just wishes there was any chance of this band playing here in Houston...

Trioscapes - Separate Realities

Not all jazz metal is good, but Trioscapes is really good jazz metal. Can you dig it? I knew that you could.I can't tell you how good it feels to know that no matter what the musical climate is globally, there are always crazy-talented guys like Dan Briggs (bass), Walter Fancourt (tenor sax/flute), and Matt Lynch (drums) out there who approach their art with fearlessness and - most importantly - a sense of wry self-awareness. Especially when it leads to amazing albums like [their band] Trioscapes' Separate Realities.

Apparently, the lads got together to polish up their rendition of a Mahavishnu Orchestra tune and had so much fun with it, they felt that there was an album's worth of tunes in them that came together quickly later that year; their mutual love of 70s fusion and the psychedelic extended jams that it often entails (the title track is 11 and a half minutes) is apparent to fans of the genre throughout the album's half a dozen tracks. This stuff smokes, man. I just love that there are young musicians out there carrying the torch who were probably in diapers when this kind of music first came out - and they're kicking ass at it.

God bless music.

The Bottom Line: Dan, Walt, and Matt come together to celebrate their mutual admiration for 70s fusion with a healthy dose of modern aggression and self-awareness - to great musical success.

Tracks to Make You Consider Going Vinyl: Blast Off, Separate Realities, Curse of the Ninth, Celestial Terrestrial Commuters

- Genghis loves him some old school jams with modern sensibility...