Alhena – “Alhena” EP (2011)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

Alhena is a progressive rock/metal outfit from Poland. The band formed in 2010 and here they are with their self-titled EP. Actually at 35-minutes it is more like an EP. Since the release of “Alhena” the band has switched singers, replacing Katarzyna Dziemianowicz with Natalia Bassak. The first five songs are with their previous singer and the final two tracks are re-recorded versions of two songs with their new vocalist. “Trial” gets us started and has a nice ethereal and melancholic vibe. The next track “Better” is a song that changes tempos several times and is really a complex track. It’s got a nice guitar riff and the bands use of synths are well done and don’t overwhelm anything. “You Lost Me” is a cool ballad that could be easily accessible if given the chance. “Breath” has a romantic, ethereal vibe and “Nemesis” is a pretty cool instrumental. Continue reading »

Mike Oldfield – “Tubular Beats” (2013)

Label : earMusic/Edel

Review by Davide Torresan

I am 26 years old, almost 27, and I don’t know who’s Mike Oldfield. Yes, you‘ve read right. Sometimes I’ve heard his name, but I’ve never listened to his music. Or at least I thought it. When “Tubular Beats” arrived on my desk, I fixed this issue looking a bit around and I can honestly say that I was surprised by what I’ve discovered since he’s the author of the famous hits “To France”, “Guilty” and “Moonlight Shadow”. I was really blown away by his skills and the boundless musical talent of this artist. “Tubular Beats” was the album that pushed me to browse within his infinite discography.

This new album is not a new experiment for Mike since already in the past it has been released something similar. “Tubular Beats” is the summary of all his most famous songs in a dance reinterpretation. The author of this work is Torsten “York” Stenzel, a famous producer and dj in Ibiza which every summer entertains thousands and thousands of people on the dancefloors. The name, and obviously the album cover, derive from “Tubular Bells”, the most renowned work of Mike and from its sequels. Continue reading »

Weeping Silence – “For the Unsung” (2012)

Label : Ravenheart Records

Review by Tony Cannella

Malta is not known as a metal hotbed. In fact, the only band I can think of that hails from there is the gothic, doom metal band Weeping Silence. The band formed in 1998 and released their debut album “End of an Era” in 2008. They followed that up with “Theatre of Life” in 2011 and have now returned with their new album “For the Unsung”. Weeping Silence utilizes the tried-and-true method of beauty and the beast vocals to a huge degree of success.

The majority of the songs on “For the Unsung” have a melancholic vibe to them. The female vocals are excellent, strong and powerful and have a bit of Floor Jansen vibe to them. The male vocals are pretty much your basic beast styled death grunts. “For the Unsung” moves along at a rapid pace, awash with massive guitar riffs, great musical performances and some great vocalizing by the duo. Continue reading »

Only Fate Remains – “Breathe” (2011)

Label : Ravenheart Music

Review by Tony Cannella

From Holland, Only Fate Remains is formerly known as Trisomy and were formed in 1996. They released three demos under that moniker before changing their name to their current one. This brings us to 2011 and the debut full-length from Only Fate Remains “Breathe”. The music on “Breathe” is some high quality melodic metal that has drawn favorable comparisons to such bands as Evanescence, Lacuna Coil and The Gathering. That is not a bad trio to be compared to.

From the opening track of “Nightly Walks” it becomes apparent that Only Fate Remains has something a little different to offer that many of the current female fronted bands. They eschew the usage of grunt vocals, orchestras and operatic vocals. Instead they opt for a more organic sound that emphasizes the heavy guitars and Eva Kokken’s excellent, clean vocals. My favorite song is the more up-tempo “Fall”. This track would make an excellent single/video, in my opinion and a song that I would play for anyone who has not yet heard the band. “Shallow Water” is buoyed by an excellent guitar riff which is complimented by the vocals and Maarten Siem’s keyboard work, but it is this huge guitar riff that really makes this song work for me.  Continue reading »

ETHS: First Two EPs To Be Reissued With Bonus Tracks

After the success of last year’s “III”, and the reissue of debut album “Soma”, the Marseille, France-based female-fronted metalcore band ETHS will make its first EPs — “Autopsie” and “Samantha” — available on February 15 via Season Of Mist.

Originally released in 2000 and 2002, respectively, “Autopsie” and “Samantha” spread like wildfire and gained the young band cult status. The raw emotionality of outstanding singer Candice Clot on top of a raging mixture of metal and core captured the immediate interest of their rapidly growing following. Now these two milestones of French metal will be reissued with the addition of four previously unreleased bonus tracks.
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