Pyogenesis-A Century in the Curse of Time ©2015 AFM Records
This is kind of a comeback record in ways. This band hasn't released in awhile, and quite honestly I can't say I was very familiar with them. I'll just put it out there, this album blew my doors off. The band can be very explosive as witnessed by the track 'Steam Paves its Way (The Machine)' which is also the first video track. There is also a great deal of melody displayed with tracks like 'Lifeless' which has a heavy vibe, but a good melodic undertone. 'Flesh and Hair' is melodic but almost anthemic as well. This band in a lot of ways sounds very unique to me. I love their sound! Highly recommended!
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Reds'Cool-Press Hard ©2015 Reds'Cool/SPV
Here is a band out of Russia that has had some good previous success. The band has worked with Michael Wagener in past endeavors and shared stages with great acts such as Accept, Gotthard and W.A.S.P. The bands sound is a raw old school hard rock sound that as the album progressed had me thinking it was pretty smooth. Nothing to bombastic here. Just disciplined and enjoyable. To me, this album is all about the songs. No gimmicks that I am aware of. Of the three bands I mentioned I would say they are closest to Gotthard. Pretty good stuff overall and worthy of any hard rock fans time!
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The Poodles-Devil in the Details ©2015 Gain
This one almost got by me. It came out and I finally got back to it. Been listening to this band for a bit now and really like their sound. Melodic in nature, but with a definite edge to it. Some of the tracks have a classic sounding structure to it such as 'House of Cards'. Another favorite of mine is the track 'The Greatest'. Back in the 80's I always felt a good band could do not only the rockers well, but the more mellow tracks equally as well. This is where The Poodles excel. Talent in songwriting in both areas. This is another good record in a line of good records. Keep em coming and I'll keep listening!
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Leaves' Eyes-King of Kings ©2015 AFM Records
Leaves' Eyes is a band that I have had some exposure to, but not a lot to this point. I have to say I am very impressed with this record. It's a concept album and is very visual. Especially by the time you get to the big battle in the story which is visualized musically by the song 'Blazing Waters. This is an album that starts off with a great listen and still gets better with each listen. In ways you might find similarities to Nightwish, not only in the female fronted area, but musically as well. There are still enough differences to make this band very interesting and worthy of your time. Be sure to give this a listen!
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Stahlmann-CO2 ©2015 AFM Records
There's a definite handful of bands from the German NDH scene that I pay attention to. Stahlmann is one of them. Was pretty happy to see this album come along and after a listen, pretty happy with the way that it sounds. It's typical fare of that genre which also includes the likes of Rammstein or Megaherz. A lot of the tracks contain that usual punch the fans have come to expect, but there are also some atmospheric and more melodic moments such as the track 'Die Klinge'. The band is good at doing both styles. It's a good record that as one would expect is vocalized in German. Good stuff!
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