Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Iconic, Shinedown, Chaos Magic, Crossing Rubicon, & Jorn

Index

Iconic is a Frontiers project that features a lot of very big names from the hard rock world including Nathan James and Michael Sweet on vocals, Joel Hoekstra, Marco Mendoza, and Tommy Aldredge. Keyboards are handled courtesy of Alessandro Del Vecchio. Sweet also adds guitar work as well. The album has a lot of flashy musicianship going on. In some ways this album kind of reminds me of Whitesnake. Some similar songwriting styles are at work here. Obviously, the vocals are the big difference in that sound. I like how well James and Sweet sound on vocals. The style overall is pretty traditional 80's style hard rock with a few minor things going on that could make you think a bit earlier as well. The chemistry worked very well with this group of musicians. I believe the response has been good as well from the fans. So hoping for more soon!

Release Date: June 17, 2022

Shinedown is one of my more modern guilty pleasures. There are quite a few of these types of bands that I am very fond of and will be talking about some of the others as well soon. With this album, the band gets back into a variety of topics related to our world and maybe where it could all end up. Concept album in nature with some interesting short bits linking things together. The band shows themselves continuing to evolve. While their trademark sound is always there, the songwriting always changes up a bit and 'Planet Zero' is no exception. While I liked this album quite well from the first listen, it definitely continues to grow for me. There is a lot to digest here, so my advice would be to take your time with it. It deserves your attention and will leave you feeling fulfilled as you absorb into it. Maybe we ought to pay attention to its warnings as well, Great stuff!

Release Date: July 1, 2022

Recently Chaos Magic released their latest symphonic metal album chock full of good songs. If you are already familiar with the band, you'll know what to expect. For those who are not, the band are female fronted with a modern metal edge. There is a good balance of heaviness and finesse. The band's sound is rich sounding with great melodies throughout the album. The songs as usual are strong as was the case of their previous material. Caterina Nix handles vocal work with a degree of elegance. Nasson, who we have also discussed with his album handles Bass duties and Mistheria is here handling keyboards and piano. The band as a unit are very capable and display a good chemistry. I have enjoyed the female fronted metal scene for quite some time and Chaos Magic is a band that I have added to that rotation. Top notch stuff!

Release Date: June 17, 2022

This Crossing Rubicon is the recent band that features The Babys frontman John Bisaha and Cenk Eroglu who has worked with Winger. There is another band with the same name, this is not them. The style of music this band delivers is melodic hard rock and with that being said, these guys are not afraid to turn it up a notch, sometimes in the same song. Definitely some very explosive guitar work in places, but the songs as a whole carry a decent amount of melody. I felt that the music here was very likable right out of the gates. Quite a fair amount of radio friendly rockers grace this one. There is a definite 80's sound to these tracks. Had me thinking back to some of the great melodic hard rock bands of that era. I also didn't feel there was any filler here. The batch of songs are consistent in terms of quality and sound. Another easy Frontiers recommend!

Release Date: July 8, 2022

When thinking of rock's great vocalists, Jorn Lande would have to come to mind. He's been around for a long time and has really made his mark in the genre. I was able to spend some good time with his latest studio effort. For me, there have always been good albums in a musicians catalog, but every once in a while one comes out that just clicks differently for me. 'Over The Horizon Radar' is one of those albums. Excellent start to finish and had me going back over and over. Songs are well written and delivered with this record. Memorable stuff throughout. There is plenty of stuff with an edge, but equal amounts of melody are found here as well. Probably my favorite track of the album would be the closing song 'Faith Bloody Faith'. Great groove, guitar work and you'll be hooked and humming it the rest of the day. Another great release from Jorn!

Release Date: June 17, 2022