Bloody Hammers - Under Satan's Sun

Bloody Hammers know how to capture that groovy occult horror vibe from the 70s, as demonstrated by this awesome poster cover.If nothing else, you've got to admit that North Carolinians Bloody Hammers don't slack. Having formed in 2012, they've released a full-length album every year, bringing us to their third, Under Satan's Sun. And their Sabbath-y, bottom-heavy groove is perfectly augmented by the Southern rock tempos you might expect out of Asheville. Throw in the occult/horror vibe of classic 70s films like Suspiria or The Wicker Man and you're on to something.

Ringleader, Anders Manga embodies the tone of the band completely, his victorian top hat crowning his 'chicken-fried gothic' look. His voice even fits the music well, sounding eerily like a long lost brother of the late Peter Steele. But what matters is that the music has a sound all its own, fitting amongst the scads of other retro bands without sounding like a group of bandwagon hoppers. This is a band tailor-made for the costume party to end all costume parties next Halloween. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll never sounded so cool.

The album is laid out like a horror movie, but it's not necessarily a concept record. The bass is quite prominent on pretty much every track, as if the band was playing in the belly of some great beast. There's a definite Southern rock groove to it, with some cool surf beats thrown in as on The Last Alarm. It all conjures up images of demonic go-go girls gyrating in bone cages while Anders glares at you from under the brim of his hat. Seriously, the music is cool, but the atmosphere is almost another band member in itself. Retro-rockers should definitely check this out.

The Bottom Line: Bloody Hammers knows what sound it's going for and hits the mark perfectly. While the retro train may be getting a little over-crowded, there's always room for those that innovate rather than imitate. So rock on, you groovy ghoulies.

Tracks To Crank While Chatting Up Hot Hippie Chicks At Your Next Kegger: Death Does Us Part, The Moon-Eyed People, Under Satan's Sun and Dead Man's Shadow On The Wall

- Genghis really wants to watch some Groovy Ghoulies now...

The Lost Empire

You ever wonder what happened to happened, to all of those quirky movies, from the 80's?  I do, so I jump at the chance, when I have an opportunity to review them, especially if they include the "Tall Man", Angus Scrim.  The Lost Empire is a cross between Charlie's Angels and Enter the Dragon.  The movie is about a lady cop, who's brother is killed by a band of star chunking ninja's.  As she vows here revenge, she discovers that the main source behind her brother's death, is an evil doctor named Sin Do (Scrim).  Once she figures this out, she enlists a few other women, and off they go to Dr. Sin Do's island, for a competition, ala Enter the Dragon.  From there, you'll have to watch to find out what happens.  This one was fun and very entertaining.  The acting is good and there is lots of action and comedy to keep the viewer entertained.

 

Bottom Line: An 80's relic, dusted off and brought into the new millennium.  All I can say is Charlie's Angels meets Enter the Dragon.

-Ragman was entertained by this one. 

Metal Inquisitor - Ultima Ratio Regis

This guy looks like Sauron going for an evening run. Wow, I wonder how many album covers Tolkien single-handedly inspired...Fans of classic NWOBHM-style tunes may already know of Metal Inquisitor and their commitment to that sound. And with their fourth studio release, Ultima Ratio Regis, that commitment rocks on with tunes that pay glorious homage to the heyday of such legendary acts as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Saxon.

Something that's both a blessing and a curse for this German band is how well they do what they do. If you try to sound like a classic NWOBHM band and stink at it, you end up being laughed at or, worse, ignored. But ironically, if you do it as well as these cats do, you face the possibility of being ignored as well; lost in the shuffle as if you were one of those countless bands from "back in the day". But there's real talent here, as you can't ignore the skill it takes to define your target and hit it with such pinpoint accuracy. It would be much easier to claim your influences by the aforementioned legends and add the usual modern fretboard wankery or genre-bending twist to it that so many bands do now as a given, losing the purity of the source material.

Ultima Ratio Regis (Latin for "the king's final argument", which used to be inscribed on Spanish cannons) succeeds by the band knowing precisely where it wanted to go and refusing to deviate for the sake of some imagined obligation to innovation for innovation's sake. And I'm happy to give a hearty horns up to that. Rock on, motherfuckers.

The Bottom Line: Metal Inquisitor eschews today's trends of mixing genres and the heresy of digital studio wizardy, instead opting to walk the path of the metal gods before them. So what do we call this, The New Wave of The New Wave of British Heavy Metal? Fair enough, just keep playing!

Tracks To Play While Patching The Holes In Your [Vintage] Denim Jacket: All of them

- Genghis really wants to go back in time to the classic concerts of his youth...

Podcast #173: Apart

We talk to Speed of Silvertung, and even (barely) manage to avoid saying "Pop quiz, hotshot..." the whole time.Which is better, the original band or the spin-offs? Get ready for a return of our famous Versus series where two similar bands or artists go up against each other. This time it's Don Dokken and George Lynch, both formerly of Dokken and since gone on to solo ventures of their own. How do they stack up? Let's find out. Next, the boys cornered newcomer Speed from Silvertung for a heart to heart, as he discusses the band's debut release Devil's in the Details as well as their upcoming tour plans.

DVD of the Show: Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine, Sherinian - Live in Tokyo

Beer of the Show: Señorita (Elevation Brewing Company)
	Appearance: 3.5 Aroma: 3.0 Palate: 3.0 Taste: 3.0 Overall: 3.0	"This beautiful beer tries to invoke Mexico's horchata drink to indeterminate results - but we're liking this brewery."

Featured Tracks: Ektomorf - Escape; PSMS - Lines in the Sand; Steve Vai - Oooo; Of Mice and Men - Feels Like Forever; Dokken - It's Not Love; Don Dokken - Mirror, Mirror; Lynch Mob - Tangled in the Web; War and Peace - Spread Your Wings; Silvertung - Coming Alive, I Don't Care, Daddy's Little Girl, and Falling Down

Ragman's Classic of the Show: Juliet - 8 Lives Gone

Genghis' Classic of the Show: Motley Crue - Looks That Kill

Genghis' Pick of the Show: Nervosa - Envious

Ragman's Pick of the Show: Andi Deris - Who Am I

- Ragman is ready for the summer concert season...

Podcast #173: Apart

Obsequiae - Suspended In The Brume Of Eos

Now how often to you get to hear about metal bands composed of two guys from Minnesota that blend death metal and medieval music?Okay, here's something you don't see every day: "Hailing from the great Northern end of Minnesota, the band Obsequiae creates a unique, organic blend of dark, melodic black and death metal infused with traditional medieval music." Um...okay. Believe me, I was as confused as you may be right now. I mean, how does that work?

But if there's anything us metalheads have learned, it's the power of metal to bring together so many disparate sounds into something greater than the sum of its parts. And that's what duo Blondel de Nesle (Guitar, Vocals) and Andrieu Contredit d'Arras (Drums, Bass) do on their debut album, Suspended In The Brume Of Eos. Right off the bat, the opening track Altars of Moss cleverly melds a lute melody over a death metal dirge as de Nesle rages over it. And damned if it doesn't work, sounding both ancient and modern all at the same time. Granted the mix is a bit muddy and the heavily reverbed vocals get lost amongst the wall of sound, but I take that as a given with most of this subgenre.

My one complaint would be the mix. I don't know how this was put together or the constraints involved, but it sounds as if it were all recorded live in a stone room. And the reverby nature of it all plays havoc with the dynamics, making it all the more difficult to discern instrumental differences - something I think is key considering the medieval instruments in use.

The Bottom Line: Proving once more that metal is easily the most prolific and genre-hopping musical genre of all time, Obsequiae deftly melds medieval music and doom metal into a seemless new subgenre that retains the melodic novelty of the former and the driving rhythyms of the latter. All in all, some pretty impressive shit. Can't wait to hear more!

Tracks To Make You Want To Install A Humbucker In Your Lute: Altars of Moss, In The White Fields, Atonement, and Cabin Lights

- Genghis doesn't really need a lute, but he would like to get an oud...