Divulgence - Future Seed

Track list:

01: Introduction
02: Synaptic Tide
03: The Swarm of Eden
04: Cognition
05: Hearts of Decay
06: Forlorn in Distance
07: The Great Deception
08: Rustic Skies

Release Date: May 2012
Label: Bombworks Records

Now, while I am not an all-out extreme metal listener, I do listen to quite a bit of it at times. After a few years of it though, I find that many bands, new and old, start sounding alike. That si great, but it gets a bit tiring when you almost can't tell one band from another. So, wth so many hardcore, metalcore, death metal bands to choose from, I admit, it can become a blur of heavy music often

Crossforce - Rockin' Til the Final Day

Crossforce (demo)
1. Tomorrow Will Come
2. Our Father
3. Smoke Filled Room
4. Out of the Darkness
5. Ready n Waiting
6. Rockin' til the Final Day

Frontline Demo (87)
7. Stompin in the Streets
8. The Call
9. Heavens Door
10. It's Your Life
11. Wait and See
12. The One Who Loves You
13. Weeping World
14. Rockin' til the Final Day (Lost practice session)

Release Date: 6 September 2011
Roxx Productions


Back in the 80's, Christian rock/metal was in it's infancy, and there were so many demo tapes circulating through the underground. So many bands, so many songs, and many got signed, and many great ones for some reason did not. One of the most overlooked band’s of the mid 80’s was Crossforce, and now we finally have a CD version of their excellent demo tape plus much more.

Tony Crider had previously appeared on another excellent demo under the band name Golgatha, which featured Adam Adam Alvarez, who later went and played with Valor. The Valor reissue on CD contained that demo tape, and should be acquired for fans of Tony's vocals. Crossforce had a classic metal style led by Tony’s incredible vocals, having great power and enough grit to make for a great metal singer.

Golden Resurrection - Man with a Mission

1. The Light Overture

2. Man With a Mission

3. Identity in Christ

4. Golden Times

5. Finally Free

6. Generation of the Brave

7. Standing on the Rock

8. Metal Opus 1 C#m

9. Flaming Youth

10. Are You Ready for the Power

11. Point of Know Return (Kansas cover - bonus digital track)

12. The End of the World (Gary Moore cover - bonus digital track)

Release Date: 26 October 2011

Europe: Sound Pollution, USA: Nightmare Records

Man with a Mission is the second release from this Swedish melodic metal powerhouse band featuring the vocals of Christian Liljegren, who is best known for his work with Narnia and Divine Glory (though he has appeared on so so many other great releases too), and the sweet guitar and vocal work of Tommy ReinXeed, most widely recognized from the few amazing releases with his band ReinXeed.

The first album Glory to My King was given rave reviews worldwide from the melodic metal crowd, and now they are back with an album equally deserving of praise. The formula is the same, so you won't be hit with anything off the wall, just plain and powerful metal in the style that is so prevalent in the euro-metal world. Lyrically there is a slight difference. Both albums are opening, and blatantly in your face Christian in their lyrical content, but this second release feels more mature in that area.

For Today - Breaker

01. The Breaker’s Origin
02. Devastator
03. The Advocate
04. The Breaker’s Valley
05. Seraphim
06. Arm the Masses
07. White Flag
08. The Breaker’s Encounter
09. Phoenix
10. Psalm of the Son
11. King
12. The Breaker’s Commission

I received this CD a couple weeks ago, right before it hit the shelves, and while I wanted to listen and jump right in with an early review, I decided to wait, listen more, and let it sink in.

I admit, I did not discover the band until their second album was released, but at the time I was immediately impressed with the sheer power and feel of their album; and this time around it is no different. For me, this band stands above many other in their genre for a few main reasons:

Messenger - On Delivery (Live)

Messenger returns with this live release for 2010, recorded during a benefit concert for Corinne's Kitchen at Arlington Assembly Auditorium. This release is available on CD as well as DVD and, believe it or not, Blu-ray. The band seems to be appearing everywhere, and in the short time since hitting the music scene, seem to be accomplishing quite a bit. I had the privilege of reviewing their first release I'm Talking to You in a past issue of the Heaven's Metal fanzine, so before going further with the review of this new live release, I'd like to go back and cover their initial 2008 release for those of you not familiar yet with this hard rock outfit.

The Showdown - Blood in the Gears

OK, I wish to start with a little background to build up my thoughts on this new release. Album number one, A Chorus of Obliteration was a modern metal monster; with a typical vocal styles that leaned a bit more heavily on the extreme/screaming/growling style mixed with singing as most bands use these days.

Album number two, Temptation Come My Way was a drastic change from the first, and looked and sounded a LOT like Metallica's "Black album" with a heavy bent towards southern metal.Vocal style had little to no extreme screaming/growling style to it, but was down-and-dirty gritty singing. Most fans of the first album really didn't like this change. I personally thought it was great.

The Moshketeers - The Downward Spiral

This month we see the reissue of a gem from the past. OK, I admit upfront, I had previously heard of these guys back in the day when they were active (late 80's - early 90's), and under their former band name, Rapture, had seen reviews of their releases; I had just never acquired a copy of their music myself. Back about six years ago, I did some MP3 demo trading with some guys online, and acquired about ten discs loaded with hundreds of old demos. Among them were both Rapture demos, as well as this release, The Downward Spiral. But I never really got around to listening to this, and did I ever miss out. I am impressed with this disc, and this reissue has been cleaned up, remastered, and made to sound even more amazing than the copy I had on hand.