Voodoo Circle-Whiskey Fingers  ©2015 AFM Records
Voodoo Circle to me is a bit of an all star band that features plenty of already established musicians such as Mat Sinner, David Readman, Alex Beyrodt, Alessandro Del Vecchio and Francesco Jovino. Upon checking this latest album out I kept going back to how much it reminded me of a Whitesnake album. Good soulful tunes with musicians who have their chops down. The album is very complete and confident sounding. I had missed this band with each release and after hearing this album, know what I have been missing. Good top notch record with very good songs and musicianship!
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Solution .45-Nightmares in the Waking State: Part 1    ©2015 AFM Records 
​I had stumbled on to this band a few months back. The track which I heard was fairly melodic in nature and definitely caught my attention. Upon hearing the full length of this album, this band came across to me as a ton of finesse and a lot of intensity. A combination of very aggressive and clean vocals offered a balance in that area. Musically the band hits a bit more modern. Their sound is very tight and confident with there not being much in the way of filler on  this album. You can feel the effort that the band put into this and the results are very good. Worth checking out for sure!
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More Than Most-Impossible Is Temporary  ©2015 More Than Most
​Definitely a more modern leaning band in terms of sound. I went through this album multiple times and came away feeling that their sound was a bit reminiscent of more recent sounding Linkin Park. That's not a bad thing either. The music overflows with melody and nice rich tones. The album is an ep with 4 songs all of equal quality. While it is a toss up whether this would have appeal to more classic oriented rock fans, I think it does have a crossover appeal to those who go in with an open mind. Very good songwriting and memorable songs make this a very good listen even if it's short.
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Manimal-Trapped in the Shadows   ©2015 AFM Records
​This album blew my doors right off. Think Judas Priest in their heyday or even Primal Fear and you'll have the general idea of what this band's sound is. Soaring vocals and stunning musicianship make this traditional metal release a must have or at least get this band on your radar. Even more than these qualities is the songwriting. Manimal has the goods in the songwriting department as well. Traditional metal fans are really going to like this release, and that means about everything on it as well. It's complete and of very good quality. One of the better metal releases of 2015!
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Pergana-The Visit   ©2015 Pergana
​Anyone that knows me well knows my love for female fronted symphonic metal. This band up this point slipped under my radar, but that has now changed. 'The Visit' is a good ep with 4 tracks that basically showcases the band and their style. The music at the core has a finesse to it. This doesn't mean that it doesn't pack a bit of a punch in places, but there is a decent amount of melody and that symphonic album  that other bands such as Nightwish or Within Temptation have done well with. Pergana would probably fit fairly well somewhere between the 2 mentioned bands. Good release! 
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