Scar Of The Sun - In Flood

Who'da thought that you'd find a killer melodeath band in Athens, Greece?You tend to fall into paradigms when it comes to music - certainly music reviewing. Case in point, I read about this band Scar Of The Sun and their sophomore album, In Flood, and saw that hails from Greece. "Cool", I thought to myself. Then I read they were in the melodeath genre. Whaaaa?

Turns out they rock the shit out of some metal over in the Med. Opener Among Waters And Giants is a moody jam with enough machine gun double bass to throw your heart rate off and a good introduction to the band's sound; confident, insistent vocals over powerful, melodic, meaty riffs with a little fretboard pyrotechnics thrown in for good measure. My favorite on the album however is without a doubt Enemies Of Reason. This is the album's showpiece. Starting out with some foreboding piano, it moves into that classic chugchugchugCHUG that gets my head banging. And that bridge at 3:14 is the kind of atmospheric groove I love about the genre. I'm keeping my ear on these cats, I'll promise you that.

The Bottom Line: Fans of old In Flames who miss that classic Swedish melodic death metal sound may thoroughly enjoy Scar Of The Sun's stuff. We're talking solid metal here, folks.

- Genghis would love to play in a melodeath band - if only for the pinch harmonics...

Amon Amarth - Jomsviking

It's a new Amon Amarth album and - look, a Viking! Imagine that...Thanks to Brian Posehn and his excellent Nerd Poker podcast, I decided to listen to my first Amon Amarth album. Yes, I know they've been around since the late 80s but I just never came across them (do you know how many metal bands there are?). But I am a fan of melodeath so I thought I'd give their latest studio album Jomsviking a try. And it is fucking excellent.

Yes, the hype is warranted, I must say. This is straight-up classic Swedish melodic death metal and while I can't compare it to previous albums in their catalog, I was very impressed with what would be considered by Ragman "meat and potatoes" melodeath. Harmonized guitar leads, Cookie Monster vocals, pounding rhythms and the ever important themes of the violent days of yore (think History Channel's Vikings). Beyond that, I couldn't really say anything that hasn't been said before about the genre this album so perfectly represents. There's over 53 minutes of kick ass heavy tunes, ranging from melodeath to more straight-ahead power metal (At Dawn's First Light), to bang your head to and that's what I crave. Fair enough?

The Bottom Line: This is a great album from a long standing Swedish melodeath band that stands as a great intro to the band's current sound and the genre itself. While other bands of their ilk that may have strayed from the core sound (I'm looking at you, In Flames) Amon Amarth is still cranking out fantastic tunes for the sweaty masses. Skål!

Tracks To Sharpen Your Battle Axe To: Wanderer, On A Sea Of Blood, Raise Your Horns, and The Way Of Vikings

- Genghis is pretty sure he'd make a crappy Viking...

Ihsahn - Arktis

The Norwegian wunderkind Ihsahn is back at it with another amazing solo album.After following Ihsahn on his last three albums I'm becoming more and more impressed with this artist's versatility and creativity as a solo artist. I especially drawn to the eclectic nature of Eremita, his concept album that included Jørgen Munkeby on saxophone among others, only to be blown away by its follow-up, the largely improvised Das Seelenbrechen. the man just continues to defy easy categorization and I love that.

With his latest Arktis, there is a bit of a more straight-forward metal sound that still manages to keep you on your toes expectation-wise. Mass Darkness is a pretty standard (and by "standard", I mean in comparison to Ihsahn's usual genre-bending alacrity) metal tune, with Trivium's Matt Heaffy on vocals, working like a nice appetizer that relies on classic sounds before tripping you out with more exotic musical fare. Speaking of which, South Winds kicks in with a sweet electronica groove makes me think of classic 90s industrial metal before a Steve Vai-esque chorus. This is a good example of how effortlessly Ihshan blends genre conventions without distorting the final hybridized product so much it loses anything for listeners of any constituent genre to grab on to and enjoy. Brilliant stuff. Until I Too Dissolve brings back a little late 80s/early 90s melodic metal sound in a very satisfying way I didn't realize I needed. Frail brings back a little electronica/metal mix before hitting you with Crooked Red Line's Pink Floyd meets In Flames, thanks in part to old co-hort Jørgen Munkeby back on saxophone. This is just amazing stuff. Just don't play the bonus track Til Tor Ulven when you're trying to fall asleep. Yipes.

The Bottom Line: If you're a fan of genre-bending, or just really creative music, I can't recommend Ihsahn's Arktis enough. It's just some of the most interesting metal you can find out there today, and I'm so glad every time I hear he's got new product out. Give it a listen.

- Genghis thinks this album is the cure to metal fatigue...

Interview: Gary Noon (Walking With Giants)

Walking With Giants' Gary NoonIt's one thing to start a tribute band to two of your favorite musical influences, but how many musicians get to actually fill out that band with actual members of the bands you're paying homage to? Well that's just what happened to Gary Noon who hooked up with Morgan Rose and Clint Lowery of Sevendust, and Alter Bridge bassist Brian Marshall to form Walking With Giants, culminating in the band's debut album Worlds Unknown. The Right To Rock chatted with Gary to get the low down...

Where did the name Walking with Giants come from?

The Walking With Giants name defines what the project is. Walking With Giants is Gary Noon, and I have the privilege of making music with my idols, who became my friends and collaborators. So, even though they’re are still ‘Giants’ to me musically I’m also a colleague.

How would you best describe the sound of your band?

Walking With Giants has distinctive Rock sound featuring hard guitar riffs, uplifting choruses and thoughtful lyrics. Sometimes intense, sometimes somber, but mostly upbeat.

How did you get hooked up with Clint Lowery and Morgan Rose (Sevendust)?

I was introduced to Clint and Morgan through a mutual friend. I originally met Clint and Morgan in late 2008. Clint and I seemed to have a lot in common musically, so we kept in touch ever since. I got to know Morgan and the other guys in Sevendust over the past several years.

And how did Brian Marshall (Alter Bridge) get into the picture?

I was introduced to Brian’s Bass Tech - Ian Keith - through the same mutual friend that introduced me to Clint. We first met during the Full Circle touring cycle in 2009, and through Brian, I was introduced to Flip (he worked with me on the first two EPs).

I assume you're a fan of both bands?

Hell Yes! In my opinion, Alter Bridge and Sevendust are the two best bands walking the Earth today.

How does the writing process work in Walking with Giants?

Since Walking With Giants is primarily me, I usually come up with the initial ideas for each song. Clint and I would trade ideas back and forth using ProTools, and we’d share those with Brian and Morgan. We’d arrive at the studio with a basic arrangement, and the four of us would finalize those arrangements in the Live Room. We’d write vocals during the guitar/bass tracking phase. The process gets more defined each time.

Do you write most of the music on your own, or did you collaborate much with the other musicians in the band?

Walking With Giants’ material is co-written with myself, Gary Noon, and Clint Lowery. Once we get into the studio, Brian and Morgan add their perspective to the Bass and Drum parts and we end up with the complete package.

Why did you release the two EPs before issuing your full-length debut?

To test the waters? The original EP was intended to be a one-time occurrence, but I enjoyed the experience so much, I soon wanted to do another, which is how One By One came about. Worlds Unknown was originally going to be an EP as well, but after the initial 7 tracks were finished, I got inspired to write more, so it became a full-length.

When putting the record together, was it intentional to start and finish the album with an instrumental?

Nope. We originally completed the first group of tracks in April and in June, I decided to continue the process. I got inspired to do instrumental bookends after hearing Breaking Benjamin’s new album, Dark Before Dawn. I kept listening to that record and telling myself I should push myself to do more - so, I did.

I really dig the song Broken Truth, can you tell us how that song came together for you?

Thanks! After the initial group of tracks were completed, I pushed myself to write full arrangements for each new track - it had always been challenging for me in the past. I managed to deliver on the challenge, vocal ideas and all. Clint and the guys really liked the new stuff, and the songs came together quickly. I was really pleased how it turned out. I had written the intro as a guitar solo, but Clint came up with this amazing idea to play it with tapped harmonics - it made the intro sound soo much cooler.

Do you have a favorite song on the record, or one that came together, better than you expected?

Solid Ground is my favorite track. I feel like it was the culmination of two years of struggling to become a songwriter, and I think it’s the strongest track on the record.

Do you plan on touring, and if so, do you have a band in place or will you try to schedule around the musicians that played on the album?

Walking With Giants is primarily a studio project. If I decide to go live, I’ll be hiring a new group of guys to join me. It would be an honor to play live with Clint, Brian and Morgan, but I have a lot of dues to pay and experience to gain before I attempt that. =)

Good luck with the new CD, and we hope to see you in Texas!

Podcast Interview: Zakk Zedras

Ragman chats with guitarist Zakk Zedras of Serpentine Sky. Ripper!Ragman sits down to chat with Zakk Zedras, guitarist for Serpentine Sky, about the band's debut album and how it all came together, as well as plans for the future. It's a great bit of converstation with an interesting perspective from down under.

And show the band some love if you dig what they're puttin' down by purchasing their self-titled album from MelodicRock Records. HORNS UP!

Featured Tracks: Serpentine Sky - Whole Lotta Love, You're the One, For Love the Way, Nobody's Girl, Flower Dolls, and Midnight

Zakk Zedras Interview