GMA - Vol144 - Herida, Dragonlance, Iron Kingdom, Dragonlance, For The Imperium, Dragonlance, An Apple A Day, Dragonforce, Lucien Sarti, Dragonlance

HERIDA
'Ghost Of The Sun'

Rowdiness comes in three stages, one: silent build-ups, two: breaking point and three: total havoc, Herida sit on breaking point and fail to break, but that's the ingenious blueprints behind their 2012 release 'Ghost Of The Sun', a groove metal marathon that jitters and jives from song to song in abhorrent fashion. It's hard what to make of these lads at times on the album but the general ideology is that they use a groove music foundation to add classic heavy metal vocals on top, just like a cheesecake the band and release features a solid background sound and a smooth and tasty foreground that leaves the listener wanting more music to their ears.

Download This: "Burnin' Tree"

For Fans of: Lamb of God, Iron Maiden, Battle Beast

[7.5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

DRAGONLANCE
'Edge Of Darkness'

Dragonlance returned once again to deliver their first ever single back in 2005, it is evident that they have changed their tune and gone for a more Heavy / Power Metal approach that emulates the melodic trickery that bands like Sonata Arctica induce and the vocals reminiscent of Bruce Dickinson in his higher vocal range; sure this may be a cliche but it is the best one to use. 'Edge Of Darkness' can be seen as a turning point for the band as they coalesce their nominal sound that will see them progress unto delivering their all important debut album. The only downside is that the level of clarity needs to be upsurged and some guitar solo's need to be less technical as they tend to over ride the song indefinitely, not only do the guitar solo's tend to hog the limelight, the keyboard elements do the exact same thing, where will they go now from here?

Download This: "Edge Of Darkness"

For Fans of: Sonata Arctica, Italian Power Metal.

[6.5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

IRON KINGDOM
'Gates Of Eternity'

It seems noticeable that Canada in recent years has reverted back to the classic sounds of early Heavy Metal, Iron Kingdom on the other use the same sound but twist to add their own ballsy electrifying feel to their music. 'Gates Of Eternity' the second album by the four piece stalwarts pieces together the classic Iron Maiden-esque infrastructure but amplifies the sound through a number of different values, such as having a female drummer who makes musicians like Lars Ulrich seem past their sell by date as the backdrop is as heavy as the hangover from an all nighter. As for the guitars and vocals, the sensationalism riding on every note and lyric is enough to send any die hard metal fan into mass headbanging. The ultimate question from the truly successful album 'Gates Of Eternity' is whether can Iron Kingdom follow in the footsteps of modern bands like Kobra & The Lotus? Well why the f**k not?

Download This: "Chains Of Solitude"

For fans of: Kaine, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kobra & The Lotus.

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

DRAGONLANCE
'Returning Of The King'

Now this is the sound that works best for the Japanese Power Metal troupe Dragonlance, finding that delicate balance the quartet consequently dropped their third demo 'Returning Of The King' back in 2007 and with it summoning a musical identity that will power them out of the Japanese islands. 'Returning Of The King' ticks all the boxes expected from a Power Metal release and more, in fact on this release there is that majestic adventurous feeling experienced when listening to European veterans, that sort of Power Metal that sends shivers down your spine. The truth is that this demo is exactly what Dragonlance should stick to, it is this sound that separates them from the rest of their countrymen. Think along the lines of Children of Bodom's icy keyboard elements and Dragonforce's plethora of complex solo's and you get the idea, as for Dragonlance this is the time to capitalize on this development and exploit it further.

Download This: "Returning Of The King"

For Fans of: Children of Bodom, Sonata Arctica, Dragonforce

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

FOR THE IMPERIUM
'Hail The Monsters'
WARNER MUSIC FINLAND

If the Finnish music industry was an operations management model it would be mass production, spewing out acidic flames of metal like no tomorrow, uprising and emerging out of the frozen furnace of Helsinki is For The Imperium. Armed with their mindf**king elemental matrix of avant-garde metal, pop rock and mimicked electronic elements, the overall sound can somewhat be summed up as 'Finnish Modern Metal'; a threat to their Nordic neighbors. 'Hail The Monsters' is an algorithmic musical puzzle that does not cut corners in order to impress, it simply reinforces the inevitable fact that For The Imperium is Finland's answer to Denmark's megalithic trio of Mnemic, Raunchy and Hatesphere. Fueled through the unrelenting masterminds that are For The Imperium, 'Hail The Monsters' is the sound of Finnish Metal 2013 and will impress metal fans across the globe, the Modern Metal style belongs to For The Imperium this year.

Download This: "Northern Rampage [Muscles And Gasoline]"

For Fans of: Raunchy, Dead By April, Waltari, Mnemic

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

---

DRAGONLANCE
'Knight The Wanderer' + 'Master Of Lance'

Thankfully Dragonlance stuck to a similar sound demonstrated on their previous effort as their second single 'Knight The Wanderer' creates an atmosphere that is nearly exactly same experienced when listening to 'Returning Of The King', except 'Knight The Wanderer' carries a little less promise, sad to say it is not totally positive as at times the band seem to have lost the direction they want to go in. 'Knight The Wanderer' is a decent release granted, but at times it is questionable whether the release itself has 100% thought gone into it as the guitar solo overload once again makes an unwelcomed visit. Given due it is a good sound but in the end, the band have lost it on this release, lost it completely.

However their 2009 demo 'Master Of Lance' gets back to basics and summons that sound that suits the band, the sound that makes t

[5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

AN APPLE A DAY
'Fall Of Thera'

Blasting the abyss apart on the European continent is Luxembourg murderers An Apple A Day, the dentist's ultimate nightmare. Drawing up the blueprints for their debut EP 'Fall Of Thera' last year, the Deathcore / Death Metal wizards smashed the faces of the posers apart with a skull-crunching explosion of guttural Teutonic force that makes any earthquake look pitiful. 'Fall Of Thera' is designed to give bands like Whitechapel a wake up call to say the USA is no longer the best Deathcore producing nation anymore and as An Apple A Day course themselves through 2013, they may as well become the best ever heaviest metal band to emerge from the Benelux in years. Luxembourg and An Apple A Day may be small, but the punch they pack is harder than any delivered by a WWF champion.

Download This: "Thera"

For Fans of: Resist The Thought, Whitechapel, Buried In Verona

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON

---

DRAGONLANCE
'Chapter Of Skyland'

It is finally here, no not an album but the first major release by Dragonforce. Released in 2011, the premier EP 'Chapter Of Skyland' kicks off with an instrumental intro that circulates medieval chanting and has stark similarities with sections of the Epcot tune in Disney, rather odd no? In fact, this is perhaps the best ever release the band has ever done, even eclipsing the demo 'Return of the King' by miles. 'Chapter Of Skyland' employs that winning Power Metal formula demonstrated on the said demo and amplifies it to a whole new level. Sure the eccentric solo's are still there but they fit more majestically in the songs than their predecessors. 'Chapter Of Skyland' is without any doubt a release fit for global appreciation, with harmonies caressing the sharpness of the riffs, the powerful ballad like vocals and spine-chilling elements produced from the keyboard and drums coming all together, 'Chapter Of Skyland' is their best effort ever.

Download This: "Definitions Of Honor"

For Fans of: Children of Bodom, Sonata Arctica, Dragonforce

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

---

LUCIEN SARTI
'Lucien Sarti'

Hailing from Suffolk, Lucien Sarti are a fresh faced Death / Thrash Metal quartet from the depths of Ipswich. Their self titled debut EP explores the more darker side to this crossover style, inducing guttural grit in the vocals and snappy riffs that are placed just right so that the vocals simply ride on the waves. Sure it is not as fast as some would expect, the drums aren't exactly Slayer speed but the vocals do deal justice in the form of some rather neat Death Metal. 'Lucien Sarti' is a good start but there is a way to go before it gets national attention; besides the band's potential of winning Metal 2 The Masses: East Anglia. Overall there are three tracks of good solid metal, but don't expect anything 100% special, not that perfection always works with rough bands, Lucien Sarti are simply lining themselves up to put old style metal back in the frontline.

Download This: "1066 Lament"

For Fans of: Carnal Forge, Sepultura

[7] RHYS STEVENSON

---

DRAGONLANCE
'The Seven Serpents'

2012 saw the latest release by Dragonlance drop, 'The Seven Serpents' the band's fifth demo takes the nominal sound they developed once again and take it to greater levels, but still no debut album (what on earth are they playing at???) Anyhow, 'The Seven Serpents' is that classic Power Metal release, full of heavenly powerful vocals and elegant music, again it's three tracks so the special feeling does not explode totally but the retaining of their sound does. 'The Seven Serpents' could be the last release this band ever does, but who knows what they will throw up in 2013? As for the release itself, it is sure to appeal to many Power Metal fans and is sure to set off a new trend in the Japanese Metal scene.

Download This: "The Seven Serpents"

For Fans of: Children of Bodom, Sonata Arctica, Dragonforce

[8.5] RHYS STEVENSON