Forgotten Realm – Power And Glory CD review

Forgotten Realm – Power And Glory CD (Sonic Age Records)

Yes, yes, yes, at last this album is out! I was pretty desperate from the delay of its release but now I hold it in my hands and yes, this is an album destined for the top! Forgotten Realm is an all-star band featuring the one and only David Fefolt, who contributes some magnificent vocal work on bands like Valhalla, Masi and Hawk, while the guitars are handled by Matthew Mills. I will not write my opinion about Matthew since this blog is full of his majestic releases and of course his interviews. The drum kit features another professional musician who is none other than Rhino, known from his cooperation with Manowar. So, when you get an album with such talented musicians, then the result is destined to become a classic album. “Path To The Fire” opens the album, a known track since Matthew posted it some years ago in a music web-site, so those who have listened to it before know what to expect. The others must be prepared for a splendid Power Metal hymn, full of flashy leads and out-of-this-world vocal performance!! “Time” is the second song of the album and once again one of their most inspiring compositions, while “Eyes Of My Soul” is a Neoclassical opus with David leaving me with my mouth open! This man is truly one of the greatest singers of all time; simple as that! Shattered Horizons was originally a mid-tempo instrumental track that was also featured in Matthew’s solo CD “Neoclassical Rock Guitar”. Now it features David’s vocals and it’s simply marvelous! A true Neoclassical Metal Hymn! The same stand for “Forgotten Realm” the 7min and 41sec grandiose song. “On Wings Like The Eagles” is the emotional songs of the album, a ballad in which the band really knows how to express their emotions and Matthew delivers also some wonderful riffs in that song as well! “Forged In Steel” is another Power Metal attack, while Freedom Calls is another fast-paced song with a sing-along chorus. The CD ends with a cover on Rainbow’s classic “Man Of The Silver Mountain”-the Neoclassical version! “Power And Glory” is a classic album as I said earlier so be sure to obtain it, in order to feel the magic! Order it through Sonic Age Records: http://www.sonicagerecords.com/ Band’s mySpace profile: http://www.myspace.com/theforgottenrealmband

Dimitris Starakis

Hidden Disturbances – mini-CD (Independent Release) review

Hidden Disturbances – mini-CD (Independent Release)

Neoclassical Metal on steroids? Well, yes, you could say so!! On the other hand, someone can describe this mini-CD as the Instrumental sensation of the year! Yes, you read well- these crazy Italians, with their “Shred N’ Roll” style as they love to call it totally amazed me. Imagine Depp Purple decide to take Yngwie on guitars and record an instrumental jam under the influence, he, he! Yes, the debut effort from Hidden Disturbances is a fine example “proggy” Neo-classical Metal/Shred/Fusion with the usage at times of the always sweet sounding Hammond (I am DYING for Hammond sound!) and it is highly recommended for all the fans of virtuoso and intelligent music. Yes, this quintet from Italy created a really provocative release and I am pretty sure that if they continue this way, then the world will soon appreciate their enormous talent. Credits must also be given to the great guitarist Saverio Tarantini, who is the brainchild behind the bands by composing the tracks and delivering also some six string guitar wizardry! He won the 5th and 6th edition of the International Music Contest in the city of Atri (Italy), a competition which gathers artists from all over the world. He played also at The Human Rights Day, an event held in the theaters of Loreto Aprutino and Città Sant’Angelo, two nice cities in the Italian Region of Abruzzo. Another important experience in his curriculum is the opening of the great drummer Greg Bissonette concerts in 2005. He has already written his first guitar method, addressed to all who want to play in his original style. I don’t think that I need to write more. The band accepts Paypal, so it is quite easy and affordable for you to buy this wonderful piece of art and support them by any means! Hidden Disturbances recently included singer Fabrizio Avantaggiato in their marks, so there are working for their first full-length album. Band’s mySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hiddendisturbances .

Dimitris Starakis

Giuseppe Silvestri – La Rosa Del Deserto CD (Secret Port Records) Cd review

Giuseppe Silvestri – La Rosa Del Deserto CD (Secret Port Records)

This is the second CD from 34-year-old guitarist Giuseppe who recently singed a contract with Secret Port Records and he definitely carries the tradition of the great Italian scene! I really enjoy instrumental albums, especially when the composer strongly focuses on his inspirational melodies and riffs, without having in top priority his demonstration in various techniques. The style of the album ranges from my favorite Neo-classical songs (“Inferno”, “Coral Castle”, “Portrait of Isabel”, “Les Fleur Du Mal”), to Eastern-influenced tracks (“Gates Of Passion”), mid-tempo pompous compositions (“Eternity”) and quite sentimental moments (“La Rosa Del Deserto”, “Daisy”) so there’s plenty of variety for the listener to choose which songs fits his taste best. Giuseppe is totally enjoyable when he performs the songs: he uses catchy phrases which never produce a dull moment and I think that this is the great advantage of his second effort. Allow me also to express my admiration to the song named “Portrait Of Isabel” since I think that in this particular song Giuseppe proves his advanced skills as a composer! Support independent releases like this and send your encouraging comment to Giuseppe. Visit his mySpace profile (unfortunately it is written in Italian only): www.myspace.com/silvestrigius. Order his CD through Secret Port Records: http://www.truemetal.org/secretport. His first self-titled CD is also available from: http://cdbaby.com/cd/gsilvestri

Dimitris Starakis

Orest 'Hawk' Dziatyk's musical past and present revealed in current Snakepit magazine!

Laurent Ramadier from the always amazing Snakepit Magazine (http://www.truemetal.org/snakepit) did a wonderful research regarding Illinoi's Metal scene and included an interview with guitarist Orest 'Hawk' Dziatyk. In order to spread the word about Hawk and his always great musical steps, we encourage you to download the following interview here . Don't forget also to order your copy of Snakepit!!!

P.S.: Check also Septer's releases in CD Baby for a possible purchase: http://cdbaby.com/cd/septermetal

Ashen Reign – Immortality CD review

Ashen Reign – Immortality CD (Independent Release)

This is an one-man project, found by Brent McDaniel and with the help of Vance McCumber formed and forged ahead. Brent McDaniel actually did all the drums, guitars, vocals, harmonies, keyboards, bass, recording and mixing. The melodic Heavy / Power Metal songs that “Immortality” includes are overpowered by the wonderful, solid and skillful guitar playing, by unleashing great riffs and pretty noticeable solos. I believe that Brent will try to find an appropriate singer for his next album, in order to send his songs to the next level. “The Fire Within” “Immortality” “Running Away” and other songs as well will be handled much better if they were sang by a better singer, so I am pretty sure that Brent will definitely search for a singer in his follow-up. Many congratulations to this “lonely hero” for his passion to release an album and I am sure that the fans will support him in order to give him the necessary courage to continue his “Metallic Quest”. "Immortality" is available through CDBaby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/ashenreign), but you can also find more info here: http://www.ashenreign.com/ashenshop.cfm
Dimitris Starakis

Christos Nikolaou (Mythodea) – Ultimate Pain song (featuring John West) review

Christos Nikolaou (Mythodea) – Ultimate Pain song (featuring John West)

I never remember myself having written a full review for a single…song! My good friend Christos Nikolaou, a great guitarist who is completing the Mythodea project, is working for a disc that will definitely features some bright names of the scene like Jonathan Marshall, the always amazing Vitalij Kuprij on keyboards and of course the one and only John West! Let me clear something first: I am a HUGE fan of John West’s vocal abilities and I can never stop enjoying his solo works, his Artension albums, his amazing work on Royal Hunt etc. I must also admit that I don’t like his latest project, Ten Man Push, since John’s voice is destined for more “sentimental” situations. Well, the song “Ultimate Pain” is clearly the best song West has sang after his departure from Royal Hunt! Even Emir Hot doesn’t have such an inspiring song in “Sevdah Metal” (ok, let me exclude “Stand And Fight” from the sentence, he, he!). The song is truly fabulous and it is written for John’s warm, passionate voice, so you can expect some vocal wizardry from one of the most important singers of our scene. Christos made the perfect choice for “Ultimate Pain” and I really want to encourage him to feature John West in more tracks of his forthcoming CD! This is the John West as we love to worship!!!! Check the song for yourselves: http://www.myspace.com/christosnikolaou

Dimitris Starakis

Forgotten Scroll Fanzine #4 out now!!!

FORGOTTEN SCROLL 4 - APRIL 2008 - OUT NOW

Features interviews from:
ZIONS ABYSS (CAN)
SOLAR EAGLE (CAN)
ENCHANTER (US)
LONGINGS PAST (US)
THROES OF SANITY (US)
MANILLA ROAD (US)
HEATHENS RAGE (US)
GRAVEN IMAGE (US)
CHILD SAINT (US)
MEMORY GARDEN (SWE)
LOST HORIZON (SWE)
ATTACK (GER)
MORGANA (IT)
RUSSIAN METAL Special article
HOLY DRAGONS (RU)
FINAL ANSWER (GR)
DIPTHERIA (CYP)
ARRYAN PATH (CYP)
RUST (CYP) + Diphtheria (CY) CD (Power / Epic Doom Gods) http://www.forgotten-scroll.net

Price is 5 euros (p+p worldwide included)


Send your payment to the following paypal id: gtsiligkakis@gmail.com

The Vengeful Few – S/t CD review

The Vengeful Few – S/t CD (Beagleator Music)

I still remember when I visited the band’s mySpace profile and listen to their songs. The band delivers well-executed, melodic and most of all, traditional Heavy Metal that is so hard to present it so fresh nowadays! I was really surprised that this U.S. quintet that was formed in 2004 by guitar players Tom Catuosco and John Zambri in Morris County, NJ knows how to make the listener listen to this album again and again! Wonderful tracks like “Get Us Out”, “Circle Of Seven” are maybe ideal for bring them live on stage, so I suggest to all European promoters to address the bands for some European dates and then even more people can surely appreciate their talent! Razor-sharp and memorable riffs, a great voice (Keith Vitali is also a member of the band “Gods Of Fire”) and most of all wonderful songs is what you get in this debut, so be sure that The Vengeful Few are here to stay for a long time with such a talent on their marks! Their CD is distributed through various on-line shops, so get more info on their website: http://www.thevengefulfew.com/ Band’s mySpace profile: http://www.myspace.com/thevengefulfew

Dimitris Starakis

Symphonia interview

It was a pleasure doing an interview with one of the most talented bands I've listened to lately and it's none other than Symphonia. The band from Kuala Lumpur was kind enough to send me its' answers to my questions, so enjoy what these inspiring musicians have to say...

When was Symphonia formed and how difficult was to find the appropriate members?

Symphonia: Back in 2004 with the 1st batch and since 2007 comes the best/newest line-up until now. Not too difficult as they're formerly Symphonia's close friends/followers who believe and have passion for this kind of music. Back in 2003, its quite hard to say but through our experiences, we have found a formula to minimized the hardparts. With the right tools/technique of self-practise. We've minimized errors down to 80% in the whole group practise sessions. So, the better system of individual practise and then in the group session is the key to be a better musician/band.

Was it hard for you to find band members that were interested in performing Neo-classical Metal?

Symphonia: Normally it'll depend on the situation & offcourse the attraction that we has...u might find there only quite a few bands plays this kind of music in malaysia, as its the most oustanding/demanding of Metal - its hard to find one band that has good musician's quality as in group - some bands are very good on the guitars only and some on the drums. Normally one of the members has been quite long in this band-they'll become very musically-good/advance-so there'll be a high demand for them to be invited to play outside as the sessionist. we do hope and place our support so that there will be more local bands concepting this genre and has a better system to develope their musical's quality as in group better package/product.

Tell me about what "Satria Naga" means and I want you also to comment the lyrical content of your songs.

Symphonia: Its just a cliche's of those strong/conquer elements over the weak/manipulated entities! Most of thelyrics potrait common issues - such as bad politicians, corruptions, personal faith and how to do the right thing in bad situation - sits up to readers to sub-understand it as once a lyric sung with the music it might produce a different feeling/emotion. We might record the vocals again in english and place them as bonus tracks in our next album.

Which are your favorite tracks from "Satria…" and why?

Symphonia: Every songshas different feelings and expressions on its own so its hard to choose which one the best, but for technical aspect we choose "Satria Naga" & "9 pendita" since it has an every bit of complexius rhtymn, blistering solo and amazing challenging drum patterns. For vocal tracks we choose the following: "Manusia", "Wira" & "7 penjuru" as these turn-out very well sounding-details advance compositions aspect. "Hasutan", "7 penjuru", "Lagenda trilogy" has the most shred/baroques elements throughly.

You are also recording a full tribute CD to Yngwie Malmsteen. Why you decided to do this?

Symphonia: YJM has been one of our major influences on us-throughout the time, we've understand his trademark composition/skills-finally can play and record his songs, not just claim/say it but unable to prove that we could play his.it has been our ultimate dream to produce this album...to prove to the world of how deep was YJM influences on us!.weve being on practising a lot of yjm tracks that u might never see him does on his live show.kind of tribute in Symphonia way - certain part we keep the original and some solo parts will be improvise by Aman.

Please mention your favourite guitarists and bands.

Symphonia: Bach/Paganini violin pieces - we wish we know who has influenced this maestros Yngwie J. Malmsteen's all albums - from the low-gain in the early 83' swe, we also like his newer sound,his impovised solos in newer albums, whie the latest compositions are also good!

Newer: Katsu Ohta strat's tones and solo/interlude/improvised licks, Richard Andersson's song's arrangement and keyboard single-coil sounds/solos.

Technically: we prefer most single-coil tones and sound guitarist,we dislike humbucker/high-output tones as its will weaken the sweet elements/freq tones.

Are you satisfied with the sales of your debut CD so far?

Symphonia: quite good! it has surpassed our basecost last month, luckily we have minimized the production cost through self-effort - private owned record label. By end of May we'll get the actual total collection from dealers/associates - positively 2nd reprint will follow soon. Thanks to u too brother-those reviews really has spread the Satria Naga news.

You are also preparing your 2nd album, with lyrics now fully written in English. Give us some info on your preparations.

Symphonia: Its all on the right track - 70% progress so far! 10 tracks has been recorded without vocal yet..we do spend on this an extra hours as we understand the demand & competitiveness are higher than the 1st album..this 2nd album will potray our differentiate and progressive ideas toward neoclassical-baroque platform..rhtymn will be improvised with more modern feel/style and solo will be as baroque/classical as before!the guitar sound will be the same trademark-single-coil -big/low-gain and fatter/raw/big than before...sure things will be all english vocal tones, kind of the asian-way delivers the lyrics in english.we hope all of these will turns more success for us and hopefuly the acceptance from international fans.

Tell me about the Metal scene in your country. Is it easy for a Metal band to survive?

Symphonia: Local Metal mostly focus on Non-neoclassical Metal such as straight/heavy metal/death/black/punks o there quite great scenarios for these followers-a lots of gigs and show for them-good demand/supporters for them.but there're nearly few to none a band concept favours the wordly acclaim/accepted power/melodic/speed/baroque metal style as in europe,consider it as underground here, many major label wont sign these concept until now, only a brave indie/private self-fund label will go through it.luckily some and growing no of metal online website/blogging has unite all these metal genres and features/dedicate/provide many forum's sections for all these kind of metal through their channels.

Did mySpace help Symphonia to establish a strong fan-base? Do you have fans from other countries as well?

Symphonia: Yes it is indeed one of the right/most viewed channel currently! Good for promotion. We've fully utilised this channel. We're glad to have more friends and fans through this way. Plus countless promotion on guitar metal/non-metal musical related websites, many local/intl. musical forums also help! Yes, so far we had good local followers through self-efforts/close friends-agent promotion channels. International will be on progress basis - on the way to make it happen!were now planning to spread our music in asian countries first - more on Indonesia (big population) as Ark Storm does now. There're also a number of fans from Sweden, USA, Japan, Greece (thanks to u) as well.we would like to gather as much as reviews now-one of the promotion tools.

Which is you ultimate musical dream?

Symphonia: To achieve the greatest musical success internationally and of course by that time Symphonia will have its' own identity of fans-accepted/blended musical ideas/elements.

Dimitris Starakis

Abstract Symphony – Infinite Desire Demo 2007 review

Abstract Symphony – Infinite Desire Demo 2007

After the great Symphonia, I am so happy to enjoy another great newcomer, this time from Chile! The band started out in 2001 as an Yngwie Malmsteen tribute band, but in 2003 the leader of Absract Symphony, Esteban Hulloa decided to put an end to the tribute-attitude and started to compose songs in the Neoclassical vein. In about two year time, the band had composed a total of more than 10 songs. After various auditions and a lot of line up changes the band finally has an stable line up with David Rebolledo on drums (ex Endriago, Santiago based band), Juan Andres Oyaneder on bass and Esteban Hulloa Castro on guitars (ex Ring of Steel). In early 2006 the band began recording a total of 10 songs. After the drums were recorded, Matias and Felipe parted ways with the band because of musical differences .The band concentrated 100% in recording what would later became the "Infinite Desire" demo. Singer Marcelo Carvajal, who later recorded the vocals on all 6 songs from the demo, finished recording in mid 2007, while Esteban finished recording, mixing and mastering of the demo late 2007.
The demo consists of 6 songs, including a guitar intro and an organ outro and it is really well-crafted. All musicians are professionals, with some fabulous work on guitar by Esteban, who really knows how to produce thrilling Neoclassical Metal compositions! Marcelo’s vocals are melodic and really flow with the songs, while keyboardist JJ Roldán surely does a fine job (check out his solo in "Into Your Eyes")! From the fast-paced and fabulous title track to the melodic ballad "Nobody Know’s" to the flashy "Into Your Eyes", the band maintained a high level of truly worth-mentioning songs! The production in this demo could have been better, but I am sure that in their debut CD, Abstract Symphony will be ready to storm the world with some A-class Neoclassical stuff. You can download Abstract Symphony’s Demo for free in the following address: http://www.myspace.com/abstractsymphonyband
Dimitris Starakis
P.S.: The band is rehearsing now and putting the finishing touches for their very first album with the following line-up: Esteban Hulloa V. (guitar lead guitars), Esteban Hulloa Castro (guitar), Marcelo Carvajal (vocals), JJ Roldán (keys), Juan Andrés Oyaneder (bass), Sebastián Pontigo (drums)