Maxine Petrucci – “Back to the Garden” (2013)

Label : Angelina Records

Review by Tony Cannella

Some fans may remember Maxine Petrucci from the early 80’s metal band Madame X. They had a minor hit on MTV with the anthem “High in High School”. Some may also know of her due to her sister, Vixen drummer Roxy Petrucci. She also has a bit of a solo career going and has just released her third album “Back to the Garden”. This is a heavy, eclectic and unique mish-mash of metal styles, and to say the least it is also a high energy, guitar driven affair.

“Back to the Garden” may be a polarizing album. Fans are either going to love it or maybe not so much. One of the divisive things about it is bound to be Maxine Petrucci’s vocals. Continue reading »

Lightless Moor – “The Poem – Crying My Grief to A Feeble Dawn” (2013)

Label: Dreamcell 11/Wormholedeath/Aural Music

Review by Tony Cannella

From Italy, the Gothic Doom Metal band Lightless Moor formed in 2001. After their initial EP “Renewal” was released in 2006, they recently signed to the up-and-coming label WormHoleDeath and it is through that label that they have released their long awaited epic debut, “The Poem – Crying My Grief to a Feeble Dawn”. With a name like Lightless Moor and judging by some of the song titles, it is easy to see that lyrically they explore the darker side of life and the music provides the perfect soundtrack.

The ominously eerie intro segues into the heavy doom-laden opening track “The Lyrics of the Journey”. Lightless Moor utilizes two lead vocalists. Continue reading »

Maxine Petrucci

Interview by Robert Brady

It certainly does not feel like 30 has passed since I first discovered Maxine Petrucci- former MadamX and now solo artist along with her sister Roxy Petrucci- Vixen and now RoxyJanetShareGina or RJSG. Many of us consider Maxine as a pioneer of Women In Metal although as you will see in the interview she personally does not see herself that way. Recently Maxine Petrucci stopped by and gave Femme Metal Webzine the great honour of giving us a very in depth interview.

Kerstin Bischof – “Project Ava” (2012)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

From Germany, Kerstin Bischof first came on to the Femme Metal radar due to her brief time in the German symphonic metal band Xandria. She never did record with them, but the handful of live performances with that band garnered rave reviews. Now she has finally released her highly anticipated debut solo album, “Project Ava” and now the rest of us can see what all of the fuss was about.

“Project Ava” is a collaborative effort with Kerstin and her multi-instrumentalist husband Guido Wehmeyer. The first thing is that Kerstin has one heck of a singing voice. She has got a tremendous range that allows her to sing in different styles and convey various emotions. After the opening piano intro “Midnight Earth #1” we are treated to the excellent “Crimson”. This song is a straight-forward guitar heavy opener and is built around a pretty solid guitar riff and changing tempos. Continue reading »

Shroud Eater – “ThunderNoise” (2011)

Independent Release

Review by Luisa Mercier

After releasing their EP in 2009, Shroud Eater are back with their brilliant debut album.
The guitar player, Jeannie Saiz, is in charge of the vocals and despite being a girl, she delivers a powerful screaming performance! “Thunderstone” features 11 songs, 3 of those are re-recorded versions of “We Are Beasts”, “Vesuvius” and “Cyclone” which also appeared on their EP.

Throughout them, we find various rock approaches that range from straightforward rock to more complex styles especially in the track titled “Oubliette” which is the album’s core track. “Oubliette” is a blend of progressive metal and stoner rock, definetely the highlight of “Thundernoise”. Continue reading »