Delain-The Human Contradiction   ©2014 Napalm Records
​The latest album from Delain shows that the band continue to get better with each release. As a matter of fact, I think the band hit the ball out of the park with 'The Human Contradiction'. It obviously sounds like Delain, but on an even higher level. The music seems heavier to me this go around, but does maintain the finesse the band is known for. An added plus to the album is the talented Marco Hietala guesting on a couple of tracks. After a complete listen I felt that this is probably the bands most consistent release to date and gets better with every listen. Definitely grab this album as it is a must have!
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Diamond Lane-Terrorizer   ©2014 Pavement Music 
​New to this band, but definitely liking what I hear. Kind of an old school hard rock approach with lots of attitude.  Who would of thought that you would be getting great hard rocking music out of Southern California in this day and age. Well, it's happening and 'Terrorizer' is the proof. What you get with this album is 9 very cool tracks that showcase this band's potential. It reminds me of some of the late 80's early 90's era bands.  Good licks and overall musical proficiency. This is definitely a band to keep an eye on and with any luck they will be heading to higher places in the future. Solid stuff!
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KXM-KXM  ©2014 Rat Pak Records
​Didn't really expect this. Doug Pinnick from King's X teaming up with guitar maestro George Lynch and skin pounder Ray Luzier. Been a fan of all 3 for some time now. So what would you expect in the way of music? Well, it's not exactly King's X or Lynch Mob, but something in between. It's fairly flashy in places with a pretty solid groove through most of the album. From what I can tell, this album has been getting pretty decent feedback and is a bestseller at Amazon.com. The musician chemistry with these guys works pretty well in my opinion. Good effort on this one and hoping for more from these three.
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Osian-Rhizome   ©2014 Sliptrick  Records
​Not familar with this band before this release, but it's not too bad. It has a modern feel with a dose of progression added in. Vocal work on the album is split between clean and scream. Not a huge fan of screamers and in this case it didn't really change my mind. That aside, the band are on the right track when it comes to songwriting structure. There are 6 tracks total, all of which have a consistent feel through the listen. It's not overly aggressive, but as mentioned has a more modern feel than some of the stuff we cover on this webzine. Musically. it's good enough to keep an eye on future albums.
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Kirk-Masquerade   ©2014 Mausoleum Records
​Had never heard of kirk until checking this album out. The Swiss rockers have churned out a pretty decent effort. The band classify themselves as melodic heavy metal with progressive influences and that pretty much nails it. Of the bands I listen to, they remind me a bit of Circus Maximus. Upon listening it is very obvious that this band is technically proficient in their playing and write really good memorable songs. Dennis Ward brings his expertise to the release and the results are really good. There is an amazing amount of bands to try to keep track of out there, but definitely don't miss these guys!
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