01. Battles And Brotherhood 04:47 02. Rock In Hell 04:56 03. Silent Killer 04:13 04. Fierce Defender 05:16 05. Preacher’s Daughter 06:48 06. Call Of The Hammer 02:59 07. Snake Fighter 03:19 08. At The Foot Of The Great Glacier 03:17 09. All Of Them Witches 06:43 10. 12:34 01:45 11. Execution Tank 07:33

Things have changed considerably in the world of 3IOB since their last release, 2007’s Fire Up The Blades. That year saw vocalist Jamie Hooper, the only remaining founding band member, take a “hiatus” on doctor’s orders; he was told that if he continued his screaming vocal style, he could lose his voice - permanently. Another blow came when the band were forced to fire drummer Alexei Rodruigez after he got in a fight with Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler at the UK’s Hard Rock Hell festival. Rodruigez would have been unable to drum on the rest of the tour regardless, as his elbow was broken while he received a heavy beating from security guards. However, the Canadians refused to be fazed or slowed down by these setbacks, and after drafting in Sound of the Swarm drummer Ash Pearson and allocating screaming duties to guitarist Justin Hagberg, they got back into the studio to record new album Here Waits Thy Doom.

To a certain extent, you always know roughly what you’re getting with a 3 Inches Of Blood album. They first forced themselves into the metal world’s consciousness with “Deadly Sinners” on the Advance and Vanquish album in 2004, a song so dedicated to the defence of heavy metal (“enemies of metal, your death is our reward! Triumphant victory, when we bring the steel to liiiiiife!”) that many actually thought it was a parody, some kind of joke. However, it soon became clear that 3IOB were deadly serious, as they churned out material trying to emulate the style and success of Deadly Sinners. They were in danger of becoming a one-trick pony, admittedly with quite a good trick, but one you could easily tire of even by the end of a support set. I know when I saw them live, pretty much all of us were just waiting for that one song - it was like going to see Europe, or MC Hammer. And on this new effort, at first you’d be tempted to think that it’s just more of the same from 3IOB - but after a few listens you start to notice some effort to change things up.
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01. By the Dividing Stream 03:50 02. From Afar 04:51 03. Twilight Tavern 05:38 04. Heathen Throne 11:09 05. Elusive Reaches 03:26 06. Stone Cold Metal 07:25 07. Smoking Ruins 06:40 08. Tumman Virran Taa 00:52 09. The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II) 12:49

When Ensiferum were voted band of the year in the 2008 Terrorizer Readers’ Poll, many – this writer included – were shocked to say the least. For a group with no new releases and less then a handful of UK shows to their name that year, this was a tremendous achievement and a sign that the Finnish sword-bearers clearly were not just a much loved band but one on the cusp of greater success. Naturally, nothing less than a great new album will do if the Finns are to capitalise on the not-inconsiderable buzz now surrounding them.

For better or worse, many artists mark such milestones with some change of musical direction, a more streamlined sound or simply buckling to commercial pressure – not Ensiferum though. Any long time fans will know exactly what they’re getting here: tales of heroism, fantasy and war marked by rousing guitar harmonies, high-speed riffage and catchy- as-hell folk passages that only the most hard-hearted of metalheads will resist making a fool of oneself to on rock club dancefloors (assuming there’s any UK rock club DJs wise enough to play them yet – just sayin’).
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We’ve got a new video of Onslaught at the Glasgow Garage from July 2009.

01. Everything Fades to Gray (Instrumental) 03:07 02. Deathaura 07:59 03. The Last Amazing Grays 05:40 04. Flag In The Ground 04:09 05. Breathing 03:55 06. Zeroes 04:24 07. The Dead Skin 06:15 08. Juliet 05:59 09. No Dream Can Heal a Broken Heart 04:33 10. As If the World Wasn’t Ending 03:49 11. The Truth Is out There 05:04 12. Everything Fades to Gray (Full Version) 04:30

I feel I should warn you right from the start, it’s completely impossible for me to write an objective review of a Sonata Arctica album. I’m really, really biased. I absolutely adore this band; they were my first metal band, I was instantly converted courtesy of “The Cage”. I spent about a year trying to learn the keyboard solo from that song, and I formed my first band almost entirely in tribute to the song ‘Fullmoon’. Going to see them live was like a religious experience, and their DVD ‘For the Sake of Revenge’ is like some kind of musical pornography to me. I only tell you all of this so that you won’t take it lightly when I say that their new album, ‘The Days of Grays’, is absolutely fucking dreadful.

To be fair, things have changed a bit in the world of Sonata. Founding guitarist Jani Liitmatainen was sacked on the tour for previous album ‘Unia’ when it emerged that he was in trouble with the Finnish authorities for not turning up for national service, and replaced by Elias Viljanen. Singer Tony Kakko has stated in interviews (including one with Ragnarok Radio…) that if the band didn’t change something in their music, in the way they did things, they would have broken up. This was ominous enough, but then keyboard player Henrik Klingenberg came out saying that the new album would “definitely not [be] a back-to-the-roots album with fast power metal”. Which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, being as I feel Sonata are at their best when playing fast power metal; to my mind, the two are one and the same, basically synonymous. You do have to salute them, to an extent, for having the bravery to make a change; many bands are happy to just keep on churning out the same songs album after album, without ever trying to evolve or do something different. So yeah, it’s good in a way that Sonata have tried to mix things up a bit, but at the same time I really wish they’d changed into something that’s actually good.
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Photos taken at Glasgow Garage July, 2009 by Gordy Jeans.

In episode 42 we discover the meaning of…. life, the universe and maybe not everything but at least you’ve got something to listen to while pondering the possibilities!

In this edition of Ragnarok we talk to Simon from York metallers Pantheon about their latest collaboration on the heavy metal charity record ‘One Voice’ for the NSPCC and also what it’s like to be an unsigned band in the UK.

Also Gordy talks to Tommy Concrete from Man Of The Hour at Studio 24 in Edinburgh about their upcoming album to be released on No Face Records

And of course the show also features the following tracks -
Echos Of Eternity - Ten Of Swords
Excellent Cadaver - Bear Blasting
Pantheon - New Shadow
Legion Of The Dying - March On
Nanna Satanen - Legojuna
Man Of The Hour - Whirlpools Of Hades
Seregon - Band Of Brothers
Painting In Negative - Inertia
Danny Tanner - Kill Me Yeti

 

 Episode 42 - Simon from Pantheon and Man Of The Hour [76:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Overcoming an initially dodgy reputation among festival-goers, Hellfest in Clisson, France has become the prime contender to usurp Wacken Open Air as Europe’s premier metal weekender. Germany’s much beloved metal Mecca might have the prestigious reputation but a glance at Hellfest’s incredibly varied line-up tells you who has the bands this year.

Hellfest has wisely imitated Wacken’s dual-main stage approach to ensure maximum musical saturation but also boasts logistical advantages over WOA with a huge supermarket only 10 minutes’ walk away, allowing festival-goers to stock up on fresh supplies and well-priced booze every day. This is just as well as on the other hand, the Clisson-fest’s on-site food prices are rather high and the less said about that awful, Download-blighting beer token system, the better. Oh, security could probably do with tightening in future as our party have fully pitched up before tickets are checked and wristbands issued.

These are of course, only minor quibbles when there’s such an incredible array of bands to enjoy over three days; so many in fact that watching half-sets is often begrudgingly necessary in order for this writer to sample as many bands as possible.
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01. Prelude for Vendetta 1:26 02. Euphoric Dream 5:02 03. Greed & Vanity 4:16 04. Like Warriors 4:44 05. Autumn Leaves 4:06 06. Feared by Dawn 4:53 07. Lord (of This Kingdom) 5:00 08. New Sin 5:27 09. Dark Emotions 5:16 10. Fading Away 3:59 11. Legacy of Hate Pt.3 14:06 12. Gates of Tomorrow 5:16

It’s a tough life being the power metal guy at Ragnarok: being forced to listen to cheesy songs about dragons and waving your sword in the wind. [Glares at Manowar before feeling intimidated and running away] Fortunately, every so often I come across something which puts a big cheesy grin on my face.

Vendetta is the fourth studio album from Finnish six-piece Celesty. It kicks off with the power metal staple: the orchestral intro. This is a wonderfully dark and powerful introduction which gives me the same tingling feeling as The Ecstasy Of Gold at the beginning of Metallica’s S&M. It leads seamlessly into Euphoric Dream: a blasting track which is a statement of intent as well as a stonkingly fast tune with a crushing rhythm section, slick lead guitar and keyboard work harmonising with the orchestra and choir as well as the excellent singing of frontman and vocalist Antti Railio.
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01. Devilizer 3:20 02. Rise Of The Undead 3:53 03. Never Say My Name 2:03 04. Blast 1:51 05. The Seal 2:11 06. Dark Heart 3:00 07. Impure 3:41 08. Summoning The Futura 1:06 09. Anger 2:14 10. We Are The Horde 3:11 11. When The Sun Drowns In Dark 4:33

Vader are back. It’s been three long years since we last heard any new material from the Polish masters of death, and during that period the band has undergone some changes. While everything as always revolves around guitarist/vocalist Piotr Wiwczarek, he’s brought in new faces on drums, rhythm guitar and bass, with Vader’s casualty list of previous members now well into double figures. Perhaps that’s why all we’ve heard from the band lately has been re-issues and compilations; last year alone saw a 25th-anniversary compilation album and the Lead Us!!! EP, which really whet the appetite for new material by revisiting the timeless Art Of War EP. Well, this month, at long last, Vader are sending some brand-new tunes our way.
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Check out the latest videos on Ragnarok Tube of Amon Amarth and Europe.