GMA - Vol135 - Captain Zorx Stimmungsattacke, Victorians - Aristocrats' Symphony, Do Not Dream, Spidkilz, SInflower, Fingernails, TBC, Beneath The Tides, Crownless, Rum

CAPTAIN ZORX STIMMUNGSATTACKE
'The Maps Of The Ancient Sea Kings'

From time to time you come across a band that is completely crackpot that they should give up music and become comedians, such is the case of German 'Disco Metal' band Captain Zorx Stimmungsattacke and their album 'The Maps Of The Ancient Sea Kings'. Playing rock / metal in the style of Tenacious D, this unbelievable quartet are perhaps as wacky as Albert Einstein's hair. From the start to the very end, each song has it's own tongue-in cheek element and variation of music, thus begging the question are they System of A Down in disguise? Whoever the band is influenced by, it is a rarity and almost certainly a hidden gem in the underground German music scene.

Download: "Roter Alarm" (for the yodeling :p)

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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VICTORIANS - ARISTOCRATS' SYMPHONY
'Revival'

Taking Poland by storm, Neo-Classical / Symphonic Power Metal quartet Victorians - Aristocrats' Symphony delivered their debut album 'Revival' last year and with it comes perhaps what could be perceived as the next big Polish metal export and Poland's long awaited answer to Nightwish, delivering soprano style vocals on a bed of mellow and emotional music that resounds throughout the entire album, resulting in a deluge of operatic sounds and beautiful symphonies that will get heads turning. 'Revival' is a solid start to the band's career and is sure to power them to greater European recognition as one of the most exciting new metal bands from Poland to emerge in the last five years.

Download This: "Voice Of Eternal Love"

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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DO NOT DREAM
'Eiszeit'

Sensational and indescribable are two different things but can interlink when specifically referring to music, so when Germany's Do Not Dream drop their fourth album 'Eiszeit' like a bomb exploding over Berlin, the shrapnel that shoots from it carries the sound of Melodic Black / Gothic Metal and twists it in such a way that the band develop their own sound. By utilizing soft female vocals against rough male vocals and amounting that on top of the delicacies produced by the unique background melodies from the keyboard and dramatic drops emitted across the songs such as 'Schlaflied'. However the language barrier may prove a little difficult for some, but coincidentally it offers metalheads a chance to buff up their German whilst enjoying some rather special metal music.

Download This: "Polarlicht"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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SPIDKILZ
'Balance Of Terror'
INFERNO / LA RIOT SURVIVOR

The debut album by Italian Speed Thrashers Spidkilz has finally dropped, 'Balance Of Terror' takes it's time to get started but once it does, the flood gates of Italian renaissance and agile supremacy take over, whitewashing the atmosphere in a combination of American Thrash Metal like Nuclear Assault and Speed Metal in the vein of Judas Priest. Sure the sound is at times non-original and the creativity a little stuck, but the overall reception of the album is well perceived as a solid piece of musicianship that should please many Thrashers alike. Loaded with 46 minutes of irresistible riffs, cut-throat vocals and ballistic drumming, this is truly The Italian Job.

Download This: "Motorhome"

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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SINFLOWER
'Evil Cure'

It comes with great anticipation that finally Italy's Power Thrash crackpots Sinflower spurt out their debut album last year and with it comes a mid-paced yet a technically crafty deviated style of metal. What is heard on 'Evil Cure' is eccentric solo's and riffs accompanied by a solid drum pattern and vocals that at first raise questions on whether it is Power Metal or Thrash Metal inspired, however the salient point behind 'Evil Cure' is that it combines high-pitched vocals with gritty, ballsy low vocals that stab you in the brain so hard it would make murder look like a recreational event. However, the only little bit that lacks from this release is a secure atmosphere, because on some songs it tends to be bleak and not entirely apparent, this drags the integrity a few levels down.

Download This: "Just Alive"

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

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FINGERNAILS
'Alles Verboten'
HIGH ROLLER / LA RIOT SURVIVOR

For a band that formed thirty years ago and then went on a hiatus or split in 1990, only to re-emerge fourteen years later in 2004, their 2012 album 'Alles Verboten' shows exempt power and passion whilst almost certainly indicating they are far from finished and still have the musicianship to deliver a bombshell without warning.  'Alles Verboten' features erotic riffs that would make any bloke have a hard on instantaneously, whilst the vocals and riffs together would bode well whilst driving down a long straight road, like route 66 for instance. Now whilst the Italian quartet wallow in between playing Thrash Metal to Hard Rock to Punk influences, the epic sound that they extrude is total finesse and an essential to anyone's collection of whom indulges in Hard Rock / Heavy Metal.

Download This: "Fun Addiction"

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

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TBC
'The Rise'
STF

2012 saw the return of Austrian Gothic Metal quintet TBC with their next installment 'The Rise', delivering once again their beloved sound of female and male vocals which guide the rest of the music to form erotic and sensational songs. There again the album switches between the romance found within the German language and the power within the English language, whilst at the same time displaying a vast improvement from their debut album '28 Days'. Songs like 'Gnade' can draw similarities to bands like Subway To Sally of whom explode with emphatic power and emphatically constructed music. Throughout 'The Rise', the keyboard provide that atmospheric ambiance experienced in Gothic films like Dracula, it drags up that foundation from which spouts the classic beauty and the beast duet between Steve and Natascha, almost resonating with the operatic sensations felt when watching 'The Phantom of the Opera'.  

Download This: "Crystal Bride"

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

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BENEATH THE TIDES
'A New Beginning'
SPEARJUSTICE

Australia in recent years seems to be a massive hotspot for everything Metalcore and as listeners will find out, Canberra cowboys Beneath The Tides are no exception. Exploding with a relentless force of Metalcore that comes laden with Melodic Death Metal influences taken from the Gothenburg guild. The five-piece outfit have assembled a remarkable debut album called 'A New Beginning', that should see the lads crawl under the skin of the international metal scene, ripening to erupt as an acidic blister that will burn the Metalcore scene and will scald everything in their way. As for the album itself, listeners can expect a futile and frantic fist punching onslaught, packed full with a tasty selection of In Flames melodies and Lamb Of God brutality that will have the most hardcore kids crying for their mummies. Slaying riffs, spine-shagging vocals and grizzly drumming sequences, this the post-apocalyptic Metalcore album of the decade.

Download This: "Medicate Me"

[10] RHYS STEVENSON

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CROWNLESS
'Dark Evolution'

There is definitely a love affair going on between Spanish metal musicians and the Gothic Metal and Power Metal styles, even when the two merge together. However when bands like Crownless make their debut album become a living reality, the result is that the music often captivates the listeners mind and drags them into a emotional state of being calmed, relaxed and somewhat sensual. 'Dark Evolution', the band's debut album saw daylight in 2011 and has been a springboard for the band to carry on their ravenous sound of elegant Gothic Power Metal. From the first to last song, listeners will be taken on a journey that is inspired by the likes of Within Temptation, Sirenia and Nightwish, whilst being entranced by this bands 'Dark Evolution'.

Download This: "Ravens In The Storm"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

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RUM
'Birbant'

Beer is considered a gift from the gods, so what a better way to celebrate it than to sing about it? That's exactly what the Polish Slavic Metal band Rum is all about, mixing Eastern European and Slavic style Folk metal with the lyrical topics of drinking and the Slavic culture. 'Birbant' the band's debut album features some of the greatest party folk songs one would want to hear, given though it is sang in Polish the album itself has an element of class on its own. Weaving the classical sounds of metal music with instruments including an accordion, mandolin, flutes and a hurdy-gurdy;, this is a truly ethnic and culture-attached band and album. What makes 'Birbant' stand out from the rest of the Slavic Metal movement is that it has a real upbeat feel to it, one that would get anyone downing the nearest barrel of beer in a jiffy.

Download This: "Piwo!"

[8] RHYS STEVENSON