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.

Profane

Profane is a new horror/psychological thriller about a Muslim woman trying to fight her inner demons.  The woman is living a troubled and confused life, by surrounding herself with drugs and submission.  The story is set in Chicago and filmed as a pseudo documentary.  The woman feels that she is being haunted by a Jinn (demon) and is caught between her lifestyle and trying to find religion.  She reaches out to a cab driver for spiritual bliss, but ends up pushing him away, before she can find redemption. 

The premise is somewhat intriguing, but unfortunately the movie skips around so much, it becomes difficult to follow.  Again, this is shot like a documentary, so it going to have that feel, but the flow of the movie never really stayed on track.   The acting was not bad and the cinematography not too bad either, but it was just the story line that hurt this one.  I like the fact the woman was fighting the Jinn, it might have been interesting to see the Jinn get a little more busy with her though.   I'm not talking exorcist busy, I just saying she could have been a little more demented.  Not a bad flick, but not a great one either.

Bottom Line: In the ever growing world of pseudo documentaries, here is another one to test your wits.  A nice plot, but a story that really goes nowhere.

-Ragman wanted this one to get more scary.

Fetish Dolls, Die Laughing

You ever sit down to watch a movie that is so bad that you wonder why you invested the time to sit through the damn thing?  Think about it, that is an hour and a 1/2 that you'll never get back.  Well, unfortunately, yours truly recently had that experience whilst watching, the unwatchable, Fetish Dolls, Die Laughing.   On the surface sounds interesting, but after that, the intrigue ends. 

Fetish Dolls is a serial killer type flick, that is just plain goofy, in which the villain is called the Tickle Monster, enough said.  The Tickle Monster (Urban Legend) is a spirit that posses photographer Billy Tagg, who also has a serious foot fetish, hence the title.  Once possessed, Tagg lures women/models to his apartment so that he can bound them up and tickle them to death.  Simply said, this sucked.  The acting was poor and the story line even worse.  I like a B-rated horror movie like the next guy, but c'mon, give me something to work with.  I barely got through this one, without gouging my eyes out.  Don't waste your time.

Bottom Line:  A cheesy horror flick, without any substance.  For a B-movie to captivate, you have to have something to keep the audience entertained, but unfortunately this one didn't contain much. 

-Ragman's intelligence was insulted while watching this one.,