Holy Knights - Between Daylight and Pain

Haven't heard some really great power metal in a while. Luckily Holy Knights came along from Italy to kick my fat ass.It's a testament to the talents of those involved that Sicilian power metalllers Holy Knights was able to put out their follow-up album to 2002's Gate Through The Past in spite of the inner turmoil the band has endured - something that delayed their sophomore effort for so long - in the last ten years. And I say this because 2012's Between Daylight and Pain is just fucking awesome. Sounding kind of like a cross between Symphony X and Angra, Holy Knights knows how to craft epic songs with everything you'd expect from the genre. Keyboardist/vocalist Dario Di Matteo sounds great, reminding me of the powerful voice of André Matos (Angra), while guitarist/bassist Simone Campione shreds all over the place, backed by the rhythm of Claudio Florio's thunderous drums. It's amazing that just 3 guys make music that sounds like a band twice this size.

There's a slight progressive element to it all, and a fair bit of orchestration that belies their expected Italian influence. Be warned, this is classic power metal, so if you're not prepared for the bombastic nature of the genre, you may be turned off. But while Rags is more the power metal guy between the two of us, I can easily get caught up in the energy of it all; the galloping rhythms, the fiery shredding of the abundant keyboard/guitar solos, the balls-out quasi-operatic wailing - it's all here, man. And it kicks ass.

The Bottom Line: Power metal fans (and Holy Knights fans especially) rejoice, for thy deliverance hath come. Holy Knights is here to rock you in a sonic maelstrom, and you're gonna love every minute of it.

Tracks to Air Jam to Until Your Hands Cramp: Mistery, 11 September, Awake

- Genghis broke out into a sweat jamming to this album...

Mares of Thrace - The Pilgrimage

If you still don't believe that there're chicks that can crank out heavy tunes as well as dudes. Check out Mares of Thrace.I had never heard of noise-doom duo Mares of Thrace until I received their new album for review. But according to the press release, their debut album The Moulting apparently made many Metal Album of 2011 lists in their native Canada. And while I have a hard time enjoying the more edgy doom metal stylings, this dynamic duo knows how to make a heavy groove sound good.

The whole shebang is held together by Thérèse Lanz (guitar/vocals) and Stefani MacKichan (drums), two chicks you would walk past on the street and probably never realize they can totally rock the shit out of a stage. If you require proof, check some of their impressive videos on YouTube to get a sense of the tightly wound mayhem they unleash on their audience. You'd find chunks of the Pussycat Dolls in their stools. And it's not that I don't dig doom metal, it's just that sometimes it's just too heavy (especially with the Angela Gossow-like screaming), and I find myself enjoying the more laid back moments, as on The Three-Legged Courtesan... or the opening to The Goat Thief. Still, there are some really great moments on this album that take me back to high school when I would have given my left nut to be in a band like this.

The Bottom Line: You know that indefinable quality of rock and roll that makes it so cool and alluring when you're young (where you just think "this is...bad-ass!")? Well these chicks radiate that with music that's raw but tight. You can't fuck with this groove!

Tracks to Make You Wanna Get Your Mind Right: The Goat Thief, The Three-Legged Courtesan..., ...and the Bird Surgeon

- Genghis can hardly believe that two quiet-looking chicks can rock this hard...

Sophicide - Perdition of the Sublime

Hard to believe the mastermind behind this one man show is only 22, but this is some pretty good (and heavy) stuff.One of the dangers of being a music reviewer/critic/pundit - even if it's not in a professional sense (i.e. a trained person getting paid for their skills) - is that there can be a temptation to pigeonhole the artists you listen to. I don't think it can be helped that humans make sense of their world by comparing what they perceive to what they know, it's one of our strengths that we recognize patterns so readily. So when I started listening to Sophicide's debut album Perdition of the Sublime, my brain saw the grandiloquent title, heard the machine gun blast beats, the cookie monster vocals and thought "Technical metal? Meh. Does the world really need another atonal, 300bpm, wall of sound that's too clever for its own good (and makes my teeth hurt)?"

Well, I was wrong.

What began as a one man project a couple of years ago by musician Adam Laszlo (who was only 19 at the time) has since grown into a fully realized album that is able to stand shoulder to shoulder with material from the likes of Allegaeon, The Faceless and The Red Chord. It's not clear who does what with regards to the music as the only information I can find says that Adam is the vocalist and that Sebastian Bracht handles guitars. But, regardless, this is some well crafted music that was written, recorded and mastered apparently at Laszlo's home studio which is equally amazing as the production on this brutal CD is on par with anything I've heard in the genre.

The Bottom Line: Touted as a one man operation, Sophicide is a buzzworthy new name in the field of technical death metal and deserves a place in the collection of fans of the genre. Here's hoping we hear more from this German wunderkind soon. 

Tracks to Risk Shattering Your Car's Windows to: Of Lust and Vengeance, Freedom of Mind, & Folie Á Deux

- Genghis is suitably impressed, but still wondering who played what on this album...

Lykaion - Nothin' But Death

Described as a blend of metal, hard rock, thrash and gothic, I'd say this Italian band is a cross between In Flames and Type O Negative. Oh, and they kick ass.The melodeath movement has clearly had a profound influence on European metal - which isn't a complaint, mind you. Italy's Lykaion shows this inspiration on their debut album, Nothin' But Death, while managing to differentiate themselves. True, the juxtaposition of heavy riffs replete with howling harmonics and very singable, melodic choruses are a staple of the melodeath movement. 

After kicking around in various forms since 2003 and putting out a handful of demos, they've put together a damn fine first album. Lykaion's hundreds of live shows have helped it develop into a well-realized rock band with a familiar at first sound that offers more upon subsequent listens. This is just great rock music, folks.

The Bottom Line: Lykaion's gothic vibe hearkens back to [bands like] Type O Negative's surreal moods and atmospheric textures, which makes for an energizing sound with a melodic smoothness to balance it all out. Funny, it's making me think of good beer.

Tracks to Make You Want To Crank It Up at Work: A Cold Summer Day, Free From All Your Fears, Fuck You (I Love Myself) & Together

- Genghis can't believe how much good new music he's discovered recently...

District 97 - Trouble With Machines

I may have a thing for chick singers, but only the ones that sound good. And Leslie Hunt sounds great.I have gone on record before about my penchant for female singers. They simply bring a unique sound to modern metal music with the potential to make any of its subgenres richer by the inclusion.  Case in point: Chicago's District 97, whose sophomore effort Trouble With Machines is one of the best things I've heard in a while, period.

My enjoyment of the band is largely due to Leslie Hunt, who some may remember as a finalist on American Idol a few years back. The band was originally an instrumental prog outfit a lá Liquid Tension Experiment before deciding they wanted to add a vocalist. Leslie's voice (sounding like a cross between Swing Out Sister's Corinne Drewery and Björk) is refreshing, being a rock singer that doesn't downplay the higher registers and soulful timbre of her natural voice within the medium of a heavy (at times) prog rock outfit.  Sure, there are others that resist the temptation to try to compete with the cookie monster roars of their male counterparts, but Leslie isn't afraid to put some real soul into it, providing a beautiful contrast to the often colder, more technical side of such music.

The music alone would still get a high rating from me, reminding me of simliar bands such as Spock's Beard or Gordian Knot with a more guitar-oriented sound.  Guest spots by such prog luminaries as John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia) and Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Gordian Knot) don't hurt either.

The Bottom Line: This relatively new band scratches my prog rock itch in a big way, and the vocals of Leslie Hunt on top really put things into a refreshingly unique soundspace. I'm loving this band!

Tracks to Make You Search for District 97 on YouTube: Open Your Eyes, The Actual Color, The Perfect Young Man, Who Cares?

- Genghis won't stop playing this album at the office today (suck it, co-workers!)...