Act Of Defiance - Birth And The Burial

Now this is some fucking kick-ass heavy metal, people! Check out Act Of Defiance.My favorite genre of metal may be progressive but I'll always have a soft spot for thrash and speed metal from the stately days of yore (the 80s). And Act of Defiance is some damn fine metal that fills me - thrills me - with headbangings never felt before. Why two Poe references in just the first paragraph? I have no idea, just go with it.

Seriously though this is killer tuneage from two erstwhile members of Megadeth, Chris Broderick (guitar) and Shawn Drover (drums). And joined by bassist Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall/Times Of Grace) and vocalist Henry Derek (Scar The Martyr), their debut album, Birth And The Burial, is an opening salvo of metal riffage one should not take lightly. This is a bad-ass album, metalheads.

Opener Throwback sets the thrashy tone right away with a moshabilty rating of 11 (out of 10), and while there's a lot of that headbanging goodness (Thy Lord Belial, Dead Stare, et al), it's not all 80s skateboard park insanity. Tracks like Poison Dream and Obey The Fallen have a grander, gothic atmosphere like classic old school metal bands of my youth - with the former track's solo a master class in sweep picking. And Refrain And Re-Fracture's sweet, dark acoustic arpeggiations that brood under a twin guitar riffage are a haunting reminder of many a happy night spent jamming to Testament. I'm fucking loving this album, man.

The Bottom Line: The synchronicity between Broderick and Drover belies their years in the trenches together, and Derek's vocals transition easily between the death growls and more melodic choruses. And it's perhaps his tenure as guitarist for Shadows Fall that makes Matt Bachand such a rock solid bass man, but in any case, this is a band I hope sticks around for more releases like this heavy masterpiece. Bravo.

- Genghis laments the improbablity that this outfit will tour his hometown...

Podcast Interview: Hendrik Wippermann

Join us as Herr Wippermann takes the mic for a little tête-à-tête about his band Eat The Gun.The boys sit down for a chat with Hendrik Wippermann, lead singer/guitarist of Germany's Eat The Gun, who discusses the band's rise to popularity through the sheer power of touring like madmen. Join Genghis & Ragman as they get to know more about this impressive trio and the vagaries of making it in the music biz in the 21st century.

And be sure to check out Eat The Gun's latest release, Howlinwood, available from Steamhammer/SPV Records. And keep an ear out as Hendrik reveals ETG's any plans for a tour of the United States in a city near you. HORNS UP!

Featured Tracks: At the End of the Day, Howlinwood, Falling, Electric Life, How Does it Feel and Addiction

Hendrik Wippermann Interview

Podcast Interview: Marty Friedman

The man with the hand, Marty Friedman drops by to chat with G&R about his latest album, Inferno.The lads sit down for a quick chat with the one and only Marty Friedman who's played with many great acts throughout his illustrious career including Cacophony, Megadeth, and Tourniquet - not to mention his own solo material. Since his move to Japan, he's become quite enamored of the culture, particularly the music scene where he's become quite the celebrity (the "Ryan Seacrest of Japan", as some have said). but let's let Marty do the talking.

Be sure to check out Marty's latest solo album, Inferno, available from Prosthetic Records. And keep a lookout for his ongoing tour. HORNS UP!

Featured Tracks: Paradise Express, Steroidhead

Marty Friedman Interview

Vanden Plas - Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld II

Those mad German geniuses are back with the conclusion of the tale of Andrej Delãnymay. Behold!If you read my review of Vanden Plas' Chronicles of the Immortals - Netherworld [Path One], then you may likely know all about their anticipated follow-up, Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld II. But first, bear with me while I mention right off the bat that this is a classic example of one of the problems with long titles: no consistency in syntax. Meh. Whatever, right?

Suffice it to say that this latest release is the second half of the band's collaboration with successful homeland author Wolfgang Hohlbein, based on his vampire series Die Chronik der Unsterblichen (The Chronicle of the Immortals). And that if youheard and liked the band's progrmetal sound from previous works (specifically the preceding album in this saga) you'll like this. With the story of the immortal Andrej Delãnymay continuing as he makes his way through the Netherworld to save others as well as himself, there may be more contemplative moments as the story arcs, but its still classic VP all the way. Singer Andy Kuntz worked with Hohlbein nad his manager to flesh out the story and it's perhaps that level of devotion to the source material that helped the bad connect to it as well as they did. And given their progmetal pedigree, I would even propose that this album could stand on its own, though it's obviously meant to be a part of a larger work. There's just some fantastic atmospheric music on this disc, providing that characteristic sense of dynamics, that makes the subgenre so much more interesting than standard metal with its themes of getting laid and starting fights, and that fits the darker, more philisophic nature of the story's themes.

The Bottom Line: Fans of either Vanden Plas or Wolfgang Hohlbein will likely enjoy this two-part saga, if only to have a modern progmetal opera (there aren't many is what I'm saying) amongst their music collection.

- Genghis might have to find that graphic novel...

Metal Allegiance (self-titled)

Metal dudes unite! Oh, I guess they did. Well, here's hoping that this becomes a regular thing.Since 2011, multiple and diverse metal artists have bandied the idea about to jam and record together. The result of this union (we won't call it a supergroup) is captured in 2015 on Metal Allegiance's self-titled album. Let's give it the once over, eh?

The main band is essentially Alex Skolnick (Testament) on guitar, Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs) on drums, and David Ellefson (Megadeth) on bass, with various guest shots throughout the disc. Highlights include some sweet, tasteful soloing by Skolnick on Let Darkness Fall, including both electric and acoustic shredding that sounds like it's from a lost spaghetti western soundtrack. I can't help but love Can't Kill The Devil as the inimitable Chuck Billy joins cohort Skolnick in a decidedly Testament-y song that has Portnoy rocking those blast beats. Scars starts out like a straight-forward thrash tune with Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) growling away in fine fashion until the chorus takes a turn as Cristina Scabbia's (Lacuna Coil) harmonized voice takes it to the next level. Wait Until Tomorrow is largely sustained by the always enjoyable sound of one of metal's most soulful voices, Dug Pinnick (King's X), reminding me how much I want a new King's X album. Triangulum is the closest I've heard Mike Portnoy getting back to the rhythymic gymnastics of his glory days in Dream Theater and as George Costanza once put it, "it moved...". Seriously, check out that instrumental if you get the chance. Killer stuff. The deluxe edition will get a bonus track, a cover of Ronnie James Dio's We Rock which sounds great. Skolnick's playing is satisfyingly aggressive, and guest singers like Tim "Ripper" Owens and Alissa White-Gluz give the song a nice edge with a nice solo section. The maestro would be proud.

The Bottom Line: Hearing different artists get together to jam is always entertaining for the novelty of it. In practice the formula unfortunately has had mixed results. The basic "house" band of Skolnick, Portnoy and Ellefson is as solid as they come, but the actual songs (save for a couple) don't really stand out on their own above anything else the individual artists have done in their respective day gigs. That said, I would really like to see this become a recurring project with a rotating roster going forward if only for the occasional gems that would no doubt come from such collaborations.

- Genghis wanted this to be a truly amazing album...