Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-After Lapse, Landfall, Palace, Scream Maker, & Journey

Index

There are so many great bands and releases coming out of Italy's Frontiers Records. Styles are all over the rock and metal genre which is quite impressive. After Lapse is a Spanish progressive band that has served up an amazing musical journey. The band was formed in 2018 with the current member lineup being finalized in 2021. Musically, the band is definitely progressive as mentioned, but a very disciplined progressive at that. There is nothing that overpowers anything else. The band have found quite a balance to their delivery. This really enhances the songs themselves as focus tends to be on the music as a whole instead of any one part. What is equally impressive is the consistency displayed here. The album is very good start to finish. Plenty of jamming, but never losing melody. It may be late in the year, but this album is one of the genre's best of 2022!

Release Date: December 9, 2022

If you dig mid to late 80's hard rock, Landfall is your band. They hail from Brazil and upon first listen, I immediately found the band XYZ as a comparison. Some similarities in the vocals and the music. Brazil has been churning out some really good bands with good albums in the last few years from all sides of the spectrum. One thing that came to mind for me was how music scenes back in the day would be either style oriented or location oriented. Sure there were bands from all over, but you had these explosions of music that would go on for a bit. Everything is a bit more worldwide due to the internet. The melodic hard rock they play is definitely flashy but at the same time full of melody. The band have their chops down and provide a good listening experience to the fans. This is a solid record from a very good band. It comes as an easy recommend!

Release Date: December 9, 2022

Covers style EP's are something we have been seeing from artists on the Frontiers label for the last little bit. This time it is melodic hard rock artist Michael Palace and his band Palace. There are 4 covers on the EP. 'Kyrie' by Mr. Mister, 'Code To Your Heart' by Easy Action, 'Can't Stop' by Aviator, and 'Sister Christian' by Night Ranger. All of the tracks are pretty faithful to the originals. A slight variation on 'Sister Christian', but everything sounds great. Michael Palace is exceptional delivering this style of music and you can tell what he was influenced by. I didn't see this EP as a physical release, but it can be bought on digital platforms. I think this is a fun thing for artists to do and I think the fans enjoy their take on it. In most cases you can see the direct influence in the artists original music based on their taste prior to their musical careers. Great EP!

Release Date: November 11, 2022

Power metal from Poland. Frontiers just recently signed this band. This release is a reissue of the band's album to get it to the world as Frontiers has really good global reach in terms of distribution. The band will be working on new material to release soon. The music is definitely heavy and fits in with bands like Primal Fear or at times, even Iron Maiden. There is a decent metal tempo here with pounding low end and plenty of flash in the solos and overall playing. Songs are pretty good. Most of the album does fall into that power metal category, but there are some slow downs in tempo with tracks like 'Die In Me' and the album closer 'Too Late'. The latter is what reminded me a bit of something Maiden would do. I think this band can do some cool things for the metal genre in time. Frontiers has given them the opportunity to get out to a wider audience.

Release Date: December 9, 2022

A very good live album recorded last year at the Lollapalooza festival. This album plays out like a live greatest hits album. It really is amazing how many hits this band has had through the years. I especially enjoyed the live stuff from the 'Escape' album as that was an album that had a lot of impact on my musical taste back when the album was released. Performances by all members are excellent and crowd interaction is good as well. The album can be purchased as a 2 CD with companion DVD or as a Blu Ray if you prefer Hi Def visuals. Also as a gatefold 180g Vinyl set with three LPs. It has been nice this year to get both this live set and the band's 'Freedom' album and overall, just getting some good stuff from a legendary rock band. If you like live stuff, this is an excellent addition to your Journey catalog. Sounds great, lot's of hits, and a great presentation!

Release Date: December 9, 2022