Freedom Hawk - Beast Remains

Band: Freedom Hawk
Title: Beast Remains
Label: Ripple Music
Release date: March 23, 2018
Country: USA
Format reviewed: vinyl LP

I truly dislike molds. Specifically, music made to fit a certain mold or another. Please feel free to substitute style, genre (or subgenre), for molds. Music should be created independent of any molds, and it should be allowed to be categorized after the fact, after it was composed, recorded and released. Trying to make something to fit in a certain mold does a huge detriment to music. A fact that has been proven time and time again. An artist, or a band, should have the ability to create music freely, and not dictated by trends and/or molds. The large record labels are responsible for forcing artists to confine to artificially imposed molds, a fact that became clearly visible in the 80s, and has taken a huge toll on free creativity ever since.

To fully comprehend the heavy rock music behind FREEDOM HAWK’s fifth full-length release “Beast Remains”, time-traveling is required. And since my DeLorean is currently in the shop, we shall employ virtual means to get to the roots of rock, and due to lack of space, a heavily simplified version of events, barely scratching the surface, is hereby presented. While one of most important influences on the contemporary era (post 1980) of heavy metal, lays on the rise in the late 70s of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), with it’s forefronts Iron Maiden and Saxon, and even that scene’s close, mid 70s predecessors, the mighty Judas Priest, Motörhead and Thin Lizzy, the roots of heavy rock music are immensely deeper. Deeper than the enormous contributions to rock from the iconic Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, in the late 60s and early 70s, often credited with the inception of heavy metal as a genre. Factually, both Deep Purple (psychedelic/progressive) and Led Zeppelin (blues rock) were hard rock acts, with Black Sabbath bringing “downer rock” to the table, a proto-doom metal root. All three strongly anchored into the late 60s psychedelic rock (alternatively “acid rock”).A period that immediately brings to mind vivid psychedelic acts such as Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly, and explosive power trios: The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream, among others. Also, around the same period of time, rock saw a rise of occult influenced acts: Arthur Brown, Coven and Black Widow - indisputably influencers on the upcoming Black Sabbath. Going further down the rock history rabbit hole, in the early to mid 60s, solidly grounded in the earlier American blues and rock and roll, we found: the forefront of The British Invasion and counterculture rebels - The Rolling Stones, the shrine to three of rock's most famous guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck - The Yardbirds, and the "bigger-louder-wall-of-Marshalls" - The Who. With the electric guitar at their common core and the liberal use of feedback, loud distortion and fuzz tones, these groups rapidly escalated to stardom status. Since we made it this far back, it begs the question: where all this originated? … On May 14th 1954 - Sun Records released a 45RPM single (#106) of blues performer James Cotton: “Cotton Crop Blues” (“Hold Me In Your Arms” B-side), featuring one Pat Hare and his "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound". A very worthy mention would also be the late 1950s instrumentals of Link Wray, particularly "Rumble" (1958), and of what was shaping to become the surf rock of the late 50s and early 60s. (As a side note: Jimmy Page plays airguitar to Link Ray’s “Rumble” in the 2009 documentary “It Might Get Loud” - look it up!). 

Returning as a four-piece band on “Beast Remains”, their first album on Ripple Music, FREEDOM HAWK delivers one of the best releases of 2018, so far. With the addition of guitarist Brendan O'Neill, the founding core of T.R. Morton (vocals/guitar), Mark Cave (bass) and Lenny Hines (drums), an already excellent band gains full artistic maturity. Their trajectory is in every way comparable to (Ozzy’s era) Black Sabbath, whom themselves reached their artistic maturity, and mainstream acceptance, (also) with the release of their fifth full-length “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in 1973. And like Black Sabbath before them, FREEDOM HAWK won’t confine to molds! While the 70s (and some early 80s) influences are obvious, the music on “Beast Remains” is in no way “recycled”. The dual-guitar dynamism layered upon the pervasive bass lines, both doubling and bottom filling to the streamlined drumming precision, allowing for an effective vocal delivery. As a whole, the main focus is on the melody and the sound: collectively, the Virginia Beach (VA) band exploits perfectly the inner details in their compositions, resulting in a dynamic, yet melodic flow. The band paints a beautiful canvas of elevated textures using a vibrant palette of colors in every song on the album: from the solid 1-2 opener (“Solid Gold”/“Danger“), instantly gripping the listener, to the very last track (“Champ“). Clocking in at just over forty-one minutes, shorter than the rest of their releases (with the exception of the 2009 self-titled), the impactful eight compositions on “Beast Remains” were all written and arranged by the band, with the lyrical content provided by T.R. Morton. The album, recorded and mixed at Master Sound Studios (Virginia Beach) by Rob Ulsh, assisted by David Stillman, mastered by Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs (Ann Arbor, MI), was entirely produced by the band. The beautifully psychedelic cover art is the creation of Sandra Havik.

I’ve seen this album categorized as: stoner, doom, psych, heavy metal, whatever … While nuances of the aforementioned styles are present, “Beast Remains” is a heavy rock record. I see no point to the growing trends of over-categorizing and listing every shade of musical influence and crossover styles, on most newer releases. Also, I don’t see any gains in steering a potential listener towards one style or another. FREEDOM HAWK has rightfully landed on Ripple Music’s roster: the San Ramon, California, independent label that keeps charming the rock & metal congregation with one great album release after another.

I encourage any potential listeners to discover on their own the music and where any influences might lay. These reviews are hopefully a source of inspiration to discover something new and musically exciting. Other than that, any review is just an opinion, and those are as many as are people. Let FREEDOM HAWK elevate your mind and spirit, within and beyond the amazing journey that “Beast Remains” is.

I shall leave you with a David Stillman quote, printed on the LP’s insert: “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not found of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.” Utterly recommended! 9/10 By UHF

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9/10 Epic Storm
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Traitor - Knee-Deep In The Dead

Band: Traitor 

Album: Knee-Deep In The Dead 

Label: Violent Creek Records 

Release date: April 27, 2018 

Country: Germany 

Format reviewed: Limited Edition Vinyl LP 

Teutonic Thrash Metal is equally important to the rise to glory of the entire Thrash Metal genre, as is the Bay Area Thrash Metal. Circa 1982, German acts, Destruction and Holy Moses, and shortly after, Sodom, made the obvious move towards, and developed upon what Venom did on their 1981 debut album “Welcome To Hell” and the 1982 sophomore effort, “Black Metal”. Two releases that are rightfully credited with having a huge influential impact on what was to become Thrash, Death and Black Metal. Formed in 1982 in Essen as Tyrant, Kreator released their full-length debut “Endless Pain” in 1985, further cementing this European strain of Thrash, alongside the American (Bay Area & East Coast) and Brazilian counterparts. The Teutonic Thrash Metal scene also includes acts from Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland, with the Swiss highly technical band Coroner, being the biggest name to come from outside Germany. Other notable acts of the Teutonic scene are: Iron Angel, Paradox, Exumer and Tankard, among many others. Notably, in 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Coroner, Tankard, Kreator and UK’s Sabbat, captured and released their live appearances in East Berlin, on video, individually and as a video compilation billed “Thrashing East”. The Teutonic Thrash Alliance, forefronted by Kreator, continued to develop and grow to worldwide domination level, releasing strong, epic and iconic albums to these days. 

The brainchild of Andreas Mozer and Gerd Hery, the band existed under different names (Meatgrinder, Patricide, and Premature Burial) since 2004, and adopted their current, and final tag: TRAITOR, in 2009. Hailing from the southwestern city of Balingen, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, TRAITOR, plays pure Teutonic Thrash Metal! Starting with their debut full-length release, in 2012, the current lineup of Andreas Mozer (drums/vocals), Gerd Hery (guitars/backing vocals), Lorenz Kandolf (bass/backing vocals), and Matthias Koch (guitars/backing vocals), provided three intense full-length productions: “Thrash Command” (2012), “Venomizer” (2015), and most recently, “KneeDeep In The Dead”. Released on April 27, 2018, with help from the Hamburg based label Violent Creek Records, “Knee-Deep In The Dead” showcases TRAITOR’s most aggressive, and at the same time, polished offering. To fully understand this band trajectory, I feel that the potential listener should be somewhat familiarized with the initial two albums. From the energy and enthusiasm of their 2012 debut release, “Thrash Command”, with its old-school vibe, slightly influenced by Slayer and Destruction, the band moved on to their 2015 sophomore album

Photo by Martin Kubowski / KUBO Fotoart

“Venomizer”, a faster, stepped up aggression, clearly influenced by Kreator (Extreme Aggression) and Metallica (Kill ‘Em All) - seamlessly combined into a distinctive style, which I fondly like to call “Motoratmung”. On to the current “Knee-Deep In The Dead”: a vital step forward, as production value, composition complexity and, as aforementioned, aggressiveness. The obvious Kreator (90's) influence is still present, yet, on this release, some (early) Sodom nuances are also palpable. TRAITOR sustains their path through the world of Thrash Metal with precision, aplomb and ferocity! An absolutely crushing array of impressive riffs, in perfect fusion, courtesy of Hery/Koch guitar duo’s interplay, completed with Kandolf’s omnipresent bass lines, punctually accenting Mozer’s first class, utterly precise Thrash Metal drumming. Hats off to Andreas Mozer for his ability to provide quality, genre standard vocals in addition to playing the drums. Lyrically a great part of the tracks on this album is influenced by horror movies and video games, a slight departure from their past two full-length offerings. The catchy lyrics combined with the all-band background intoned tracks’ choruses, makes for an easy to follow, scream along listening experience, on this eleven tracks, just under 40 minutes release. Gus Drax (Black Fate, Suicidal Angels & Sunburst) provides a guest guitar solo on one of the album’s tracks. The album closes with a bonus track cover of Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop”. The album’s cover art, a clear indication of what the listener is about to witness, was created by the legendary artist Ed Repka, responsible for a renowned collection of metal albums cover art, on display from acts such: Death, Megadeth, Gruesome, Whiplash and Atheist, among many others. A very special mention goes to Vagelis Maranis (Sanvoisen, Arrayan Path), whom not only produced, recorded, mixed and mastered “Knee-Deep In The Dead”, and the previous two full-length albums for the band, but he is also the additive, if you wish, that maintains TRAITOR’s consistency, their friend and mentor. 

“(..) Prepare for the attack, there is no turning back, Hail to the TRAITOR!” - “KneeDeep In Dead” is an accessible, mad fun, beer gatherings appropriate, album for all: seasoned Thrash Metal maniacs and newcomers eager to dive into a new, more aggressive metal genre! Highly recommended! 8.5/10 UHF

For more things TRAITOR, check Count Vlad's exclusive interview with Andreas Mozer here.

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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory
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Crimson Day - At The Mountains Of Madness

Band: Crimson Day 

Title: At The Mountains Of Madness 

Label: Independent 

Release date: February 17, 2018 

Country: Finland 

Format reviewed: FLAC 

The world of rock & metal, and all music in general, has evolved. Some prefer the return of the real metal to the underground. Personally, I don’t have an issue with that. Internet made it possible for acts, new and older, to independently release and promote their releases, perhaps a lot easier than it was during the earlier tape trading era. I am, however, a strong believer that real talent should be recognized and compensated accordingly. Real talent should have access to proper, worldwide physical media distribution outlets, rewarding streaming and downloading services and hassle-free booking to properly compensating gigs. Unfortunately, in this current world of “internet-underground” metal, the real talent is being suffocated by an immensely growing pile of horseshit, an utter waste of data storage petabytes - stuff unfitted to be called music. The ever greed driven record labels and blood sucking streaming services, further obstructs the development of real talent. With that said: the real talent is out there, awaiting to be discovered, savored and praised by fans! 

The latter is clearly the case for CRIMSON DAY. A virtually unknown band, hailing from the city of Tampere in Pirkanmaa, southern Finland. Formed in 2013, the band released their self-titled debut EP the same year. After releasing their first full-length album, “Order Of The Shadows” (2015), the band underwent a couple of lineup changes, resulting in the current formation of: Lassi Landström (vocals), Jesse Liukkonen & Ari Balzar (guitars), Jesse Kämäräinen (bass) and Tuomas Lesonen (drums). “At The Mountains Of Madness”, the band’s sophomore full-length release, independently came to fruition on February 17th. Twelve captivating tracks, showcasing great composition writing skills, captivating lyrics and admirable execution. Conclusively: real talent! The tracks recorded and mixed by Jussi Kulomaa, and mastered by Esa Orjatsalo, sum up to a very memorable listening experience, a virtual realm of Heavy Metal greatness! Some may chose to superficially call this power metal. The hybrid amalgam of melodic, fluid complexity, up-tempo, proficient, sing-along, inspirational framework, with just the right touch of pure Scandinavian ariose speed metal and a hint of neoclassical, it’s what I call: Epic Heavy Metal! Track after track: each time setting a high level of expectation and delivering it without any hesitation! No fillers, no superficiality. From the dramatic piano bars of the intro, “The Expedition of Dr. William Dyer”, and to the fading acoustic guitar notes of the last song on the album, the haunting “Crimson Shore”, this band delivers a multi-layered, fantastic sound voyage. Upper echelon dual guitar landscapes (including very well executed solos), providing apt, textured foundation for the clean, heldentenor like, imposing vocals, all driven with aplomb by the rhythm section’s pinpoint precision and dynamism. Lyrics, as previously mentioned, are top notch, exploring a variety of subjects: literature (fiction), humanity, injustice, mortality, suicide, psychopathy and history (mythology, war, sacrifice, heroism). The album’s cover art in traditional ink pointillism by A.R. Semaster, completes the package. 

CRIMSON DAY has never toured outside their homeland of Finland, with the exception of one show in Berlin, in 2017. Currently seeking a label, producer and booking agent, the band is working on ideas for new material, after wrapping up a winter/spring tour in support of “At The Mountains Of Madness”. Discover something new: buy it, stream it, whatever … - this talented young band deserves all the support it can get! I absolutely recommend this album! 9.5/10 UHF

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9.5/10 Epic Storm

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Voltaje Cadáver - Todos Los Colores De La Oscuridad

Band: Voltaje Cadáver 

Album: Todos Los Colores De La Oscuridad 

Label: Independent/Odio Sonoro 

Release date: March 30, 2018 

Country: Spain 

Format reviewed: CD-quality download 

“Mugre” (Spanish for: grime, dirt, filth, muck, grease) is the word that defines the sludge/doom/stoner style of Voltaje Cadáver. A band formed in the working class city of Torrelavega, an important industrial and commercial hub in the province of Cantabria in northern Spain. The city was an important agricultural (famous weekly livestock fair) center in the Kingdom of Castile since medieval times, and it is perhaps better known for the over fifteen thousand years old prehistoric paintings found in the nearby Cave of Altamira. A place that was profoundly marked by the most current global economic downturn, from which is still struggling to recover. 

There is absolutely no surprise to find the parallels of this gray landscape, and it’s strives in the music of Voltaje Cadáver’s debut album, “Todos Los Colores De La Oscuridad” (All The Colors Of Darkness, in English). There are no apologies, no self-pity on display here. This band’s music is fully anchored in the crude realities. Musically and lyrically the desolation, discouragement and decline is vividly evident. Surroundings and elements that push creation to extremes. Agonizingly angry, pissed and wounded is Manu’s vocal delivery (mostly in the vein of Max Cavalera), supported by the hostile dual guitar assault courtesy of Óscar and Fidel, with bassist Luis adding respectable weight to the bottom end, all cemented in place by Panchi’s destructively assertive drumming. The in-your-face, speakers’ shredding production of the nine songs on the album, is the combined effort of Pedro Setien and Alex Pis at Drive Division Estudios (in Santander), and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, in Portland. In just over forty minutes of sheer brutality, Voltaje Cadáver, takes the listener to a somber and thoroughly overcasted place. The lead weighted lyrics remain fixated on social issues: scornful, mentally constipated and corrupted society, naivety of organized religion and greed. All the lyrics are intoned in the band’s native language: Spanish. 

The maturity of the musicians involved in the band is obvious on this album, despite for this being their debut release. Please read the band’s exclusive interview, conducted by my partner in crime, Count Vlad, here. Nos gusta la mugre! Recommended. 7.5/10 UHF

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7.5/10 Victory is Possible

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Dangerous Curves - So Dirty Right

Band: Dangerous Curves

Album: "So Dirty Right"

Label: Independent

Release date: April 6, 2018

Country: Australia

Format reviewed: FLAC

It is both a privilege and an honor to write the first review concerning a (Hard Rock) Glam Metal release for Blessed Altar Zine - dedicated to bringing to our readers honest opinions regarding quality releases in the ever expending world of the underground metal.

The Glam Metal (an integral part of Hard Rock) of the mid 80s into the early 90s was at the time, a very well regarded rock/metal genre, receiving ample airtime on music TV and on dedicated FM radio stations across the globe. Glam Metal was then considered mainstream, and it's popularity helped usher in many other rock/metal styles to the discovery and enjoinment of the masses. By the mid 90s, Glam Metal has been scraped by all major labels and it ceased to exist in it’s “glory days” form - a fact most rock music fans are familiar with. Some efforts were made by well established acts of the genre, to revive it into the new millennium, but unfortunately, the vast majority fell short. That is not to say that quality Hard Rock albums were not released. However, none were able to capture the real essence of Glam Metal from it’s glory days. One of the acts that captured said essence to a large extent, in the most recent years is the Finnish band Santa Cruz. With that said, it wasn’t until earlier this year, on April 6th, when a young band from Geelong, Australia, managed to bring back, at full magnitude, the quality Glam Metal that most of us fans, believed to be gone and buried. This band is DANGEROUS CURVES!

Growing up, I was exposed to a large variety of music, including to what it's now considered the classics of rock. Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and The Eagles are fine examples of acts that I was familiar with from a young age. Growing up behind the Iron Curtain made it very difficult to be exposed to the newer musical trends of the West, specifically in the 80s. A total censorship of western rock/metal music was in place. Rock & metal LPs and tapes were verboten by the communist regime, and nearly impossible to procure. New releases were smuggled-in via bootleg tapes. Two short-wave radio stations aimed against the communist authorities in the Eastern Europe, Voice Of America and Radio Free Europe, aired rock music programs, exposing the eastern block audience to the newest trends in the genre. In our early teens, a schoolmate and I, upon listening to one of these radio programs on Voice Of America, decided to write a letter requesting a tape. A couple of months later, a 90 minutes audio tape miraculously arrived in the mail. On side A: Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet”, and Europe’s “The Final Countdown” on side B. Game changer! Glam Metal became the core of my love and passion for all things rock & metal.

Fast forward 30 plus years: the hopes for a quality Glam Metal new release, able to mimic what is now considered relics of the past, has diminished drastically. Most of the established bands of the genre’s past are still touring on the laurels of their heydays. Newer materials, while some great, not up to snuff. On a late April night, while browsing Bandcamp, I stumble upon an independently released album, tagged “glam metal”, by an unknown (to me) Australian band, DANGEROUS CURVES. The album, titled “So Dirty Right”, is precisely what I’ve lust for all these years: unapologetic, fun and anthemic Glam Metal. The incredible part being: Glam Metal, once a mainstream genre, is now an integral part of the underground!

The new crowned kings of Glam Metal, DANGEROUS CURVES, formed in 2015, and released their self-titled debut EP in 2016. The band’s line-up remained unchanged since formation: Kym Britten (vocals), Cammy Paul (guitars), Ziggy Robertson (bass), and Luke Chapman (drums). After countless gigs, around their home state, the Geelong boys reentered the studio, this time Melbourne’s Monolith Studios, where Chris Themelco recorded, engineered and produced their full-length debut, “So Dirty Right”. Self-evident is the band’s inspiration from superstar acts such as Bon Jovi, KISS and Van Halen, etc. and their achievement in recreating the 80s L.A. styled rock and roll, with a few modern twists thrown in the mix. They would’ve been right at home performing at any of the famed rock clubs on the Sunset Strip, at the end of the 80s. Unmistakable is the band's ardent esteem for the glorious past of Glam Metal, while re-enacting a joyous and familiar vibe, not by recycling the past, but by constructing ten undeniably new and exciting tracks on their release. The songs are upbeat, sing-along-able, with great guitar hooks and solos, catchy lyrics and huge drums - anthems that would’ve filled stadiums not that long ago. For good measures, the acoustic stuff is there, and so it is the obligatory power ballad (lighter appropriate). There are no mediocre songs on this album. All compositions, arrangements and performances, are well and enthusiastically rendered! This is not Poison (sorry, Poison fans). “So Dirty Right” feels right at home alongside vibrantly guitar driven releases by SouthGang, Beau Nasty, Lancia, Heaven’s Edge, Lynch Mob, Flame, and Shark Island, among others. I don’t care if lyrically some content is not politically correct, or offensive to some ears. This style of music is about fun and about having fun. Sterility need no apply. Deal with it!

In a world of hassle and incertitude, the almost forgotten vibe of party rock, as present on DANGEROUS CURVES’ “So Dirty Right” is a welcomed diversion from current realities, a throwback to a less complicated time. Highly recommended. Party like it’s 1988 and most importantly, have fun! 9/10 UHF

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 9/10 – Epic Storm

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