mercoledì 31 agosto 2016

Anciients reveal second track of new album


ANCIIENTS are now streaming the second thunderous song from their highly anticipated new album 'Voice of the Void'. The Canadian heavy rockers will release the follow-up to their acclaimed debut full-length 'Heart of Oak' (2013) on October 14. 

The track "Serpents" is now exclusively streaming via Rock Hard Italy

Guitarist and vocalist Chris Dyck states on behalf of the band: "Our new track 'Serpents' started off with Kenny and I sitting in his garage waiting for Boon and Hannay to roll up for a writing session. I was messing around with a riff, when Kenny mentioned that he had one just like that... and his take on it turned out to be way better. Once the song started to take shape we noticed that it was headed into power ballad territory. We all had a laugh and started calling it 'The November Rainer'. We thought that the idea of a arena rock style metal ballad was kind of cool, so we just went with it. I love how this song turned out - with shades of late 80's METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES riff wise. as well as shades of SOUNDGARDEN when it comes to the vocals. I am glad that we put a song like this on 'Voice of the Void'. It opens the door for us to do other things like this in future (more slow and wide open songs) and it is a very fun song to play. We really hope that everyone enjoys it.

ZODIAC - Grain Of Soul

"Grain Of Soul"

Release date: 29 July 2016

Label: Napalm Records 

Country: Germany

Style: rock  

Tracklist
1.Rebirth by Fire 
2.Animal 
3.Follow you 
4.Down 
5.Faithless 
6.Crow 
7.Ain't Comin' Back 
8.Get Out 
9.Like The Sun 
10.Sinner 
11.Grain Of Soul 

Quarto album per la band dei tedeschi Nick Van Delft (voce e chitarra solista) e Janosch Rathmer (batteria), che fondarono gli Zodiac appena sei anni fa, arruolando anche Stephan Gall (chitarra) e Ruben Claro (basso e tastiere) che ha sostituito l'originale Robert Kahr nel 2012. 
Grain Of Soul è stato registrato, mixato e prodotto da Arne Neurand (Guano Apes) presso gli Horus Sound Studio di Hannover ed è stato masterizzato a Parigi da Jean-Pierre Chalbos (Gojira) che ha anche vinto un Grammy Award. Album orecchiabile e molto gradevole, mescola in sé più generi, con 11 tracce che mostrano ispirazioni provenienti dallo stoner e dall' hard rock, dal grunge e dall'alternative. Di sicuro i musicisti di questo combo sanno il fatto loro e che si siano divertiti a registrare soprattutto alcuni pezzi di "Grain Of Soul" si sente, specie ascoltando tracks come "Animal", "Faithless", "Crow," "Ain't Coming Back" e "Sinner," nelle quali forse si percepisce un groove più amalgamato e coinvolgente rispetto ad alcune altre. 
La title track arriva in chiusura dell'album, con un ritornello abbastanza catchy, ma con un'atmosfera un po' più grigia e cupa rispetto ad altre tracce. Notevoli e di sicura presa anche "Down" e "Get Out", almeno dal punto di vista degli arrangiamenti. 
Di contro, in generale, non sembrano puntare a una particolare profondità e ispirazione i testi, che si districano alla meglio tra un pezzo e l'altro, ma non hanno altre pretese se non quella di usare parole che ci stanno all'interno della metrica e che suonano abbastanza accattivanti nell'insieme. 

L'effetto generale che si respira alla fine dell'album è di fatto l'impressione di aver assistito a una sorta di rivisitazione in chiave matura e senza tempo di Black Sabbath, Monster Magnet e Alice In Chains, con un pizzico di blues, quel tanto che serve per rendere il genere degli Zodiac un metal, diciamo così, radio-friendly, espressione non mia, ma che rende bene l'idea. 

7/10
Margherita Realmonte (Meg) 


Photo Credit: André Stephan / Morsey & Stephan GmbH

martedì 30 agosto 2016

GLORYFUL - END OF THE NIGHT

"END OF THE NIGHT" 

Release Date: August 26, 2016


Country: Germany

Style: Heavy Metal/ Power Metal 

Tracklist: 1. Intro: Dawn Of The Raven King 
2. This Means War 
3. The Glorriors 
4. Heart Of Evil 
5. Hail To The King 
6. For Victory 
7. End Of The Night 
8. God Against Man 
9. On Fire 
10. Rise Of The Sacred Star 

Terzo lavoro per I tedeschi Gloryful, quintetto attivo dall’estate del 2010 e che, passo dopo passo, si è creato un discreto seguito grazie a numerosi concerti con bands come Queensryche, Axxis, Hammerfall e Accept. 

End Of The Night è un lavoro orientato verso un power-epic metal potente e ruvido ma anche capace di interessanti aperture melodiche. I testi trattano tematiche fantasy (in questo caso si narra la leggenda di Sedna, dea degli Inuit) e per questo viene spontaneo accostarli ai Blind Guardian. 
Le similitudini sono evidenti anche per il massiccio uso di cori e per il gusto melodico di certe canzoni, su tutte la bellissima title-track, ballata acustica medioevaleggiante impreziosita da un violino inserito con gusto. I
l lavoro alterna momenti cadenzati e diretti come “The Glorriors” e “For Victory” (in cui emergono anche le influenze dei Manowar) ad altri più veloci come l’efficace opener “This Means War”, che non avrebbe sfigurato su “Invictus” dei Virgin Steele, e la conclusiva, devastante “Rise Of The Sacred Star”. 

Il tutto appare indubbiamente derivativo, ma la cura negli arrangiamenti e la grande perizia strumentale dei nostri permette a End Of The Night di elevarsi nettamente sopra la media. In particolare il leader Johnny La Bomba, con la sua voce potente e dal timbro personale, dimostra di essere un singer davvero in grado di fare la differenza. 

7,5/10 
Andrea 

Line-up: 
Johnny La Bomba – vocals, guitar 
Jens Basten – guitar 
Adrian Weiss – guitar 
Daniel “Danji” Pearl” – bass 
Hartmut Stoof – drums

Shadecrown to release debut album in October!


A Finnish melancholic melodic death metal band Shadecrown have set a release date for their debut album. 

The album is called Agonia and it is released October 21st 2016 via Inverse Records.

Shadecrown was founded in 2012 by songwriter/keyboardist Saku Tammelin and they have previously released one demo and EP. 

The band's music consists of many different elements and it's influenced by many metal genres such as thrash and melodic doom metal. In other words Shadecrown's music combines beautiful melancholic melodies and aggressive guitar riffs.



Track list: 
1. Eremophobia 
2. Led Astray 
3. Ghostlike Existence 
4. Far Off Innocence 
5. Walk Through Hell 
6. Longing For Sleep 
7. The Ruins Of Me 
8. Tear-Stained Heart 
9. Silent Hours 
10. Drown 

Line-up
Saku Tammelin - Keyboards 
Jari Hokka - Vocals 
Janne Salmelin - Bass & Clean Vocals 
Kalle Varonen - Drums Joonas Vesamäki - Guitars 
Riku Niemonen - Guitars 

Discography: Shadecrown (Demo) 2013 Chained (EP) 2013 Agonia (Full-length) 2016 

Links

lunedì 29 agosto 2016

HAMMERSCHMITT - Still On Fire

"Still On Fire"

Release Date: on August 26th 2016


Style: heavy metal/ hard rock

Country: Germany

Tracklist:
1. Rock Steady
2. Sanctuary
3. Still On Fire
4. Metalheadz
5. Shout
6. Zombie
7. One Helluva Night
8. Mean Streak
9. Crazy World
10. Whoohoo
11. Killed By Death

Gli Hammerschmitt hanno una carriera quasi ventennale alle spalle, ma non sono praticamente mai usciti dai confini della Germania. Il loro hard rock in madrelingua li ha fatti diventare una cult band in patria ma ovviamente ne ha reso difficile l’esportazione nel resto del mondo.

Dopo gli scarsi riconoscimenti ottenuti dal terzo lavoro “12 – Jenseits Der Stille” (un concept album poco gradito dai fans) i nostri decidono di tentare il cantato in inglese, e tra il 2013 e il 2015 si autoproducono due ep di 5 pezzi ciascuno, intitolati “Born To Rock” vol.1 e vol.2.

“Still On Fire” viene presentato come il quarto lavoro degli Hammerschmitt ma in realtà comprende i 10 brani degli ep e un solo inedito, una cover stravolta di “Killed By Death” dei Motorhead, che viene trasformata in una suggestiva ballata alla Scorpions!

Purtroppo l’hard rock melodico degli Hammerschmitt, dal gusto tipicamente europeo, sfrutta fin troppo i clichè del genere e non dice nulla che non sia già stato detto dai vari Bonfire, Sinner, Gotthard e soprattutto Scorpions. 

“Rock Steady” vorrebbe essere la loro “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, le chitarre si intrecciano come quelle della coppia Schenker-Jabs, il tutto suona piacevole, ben suonato e ben prodotto, ma la sensazione di deja-vu rimane costante. Altrove i nostri sfoggiano un suono più americano, come in “Mean Streak” (dal riff simile a quello di “Looks That Kill” dei Motley Crue) o nella ballata “Crazy World” (dall’arpeggio rubacchiato a “I Remember You” degli Skid Row) ma il risultato non cambia. Sorprendeinvece la cover di “Zombie” dei Cranberries, personalizzata e ben eseguita.

Un onesto artigianato hard rock quindi, che non deluderà i fans ma che difficilmente permetterà agli Hammerschmitt di effettuare il salto di qualità.

6,5/10
Andrea

line-up:
Benjamin Kroib – vocals
Gernot Kroib – guitars
Andreas Summer – guitar
Armin Zelzer - bass
Stefan Kroib – drums

Links:


venerdì 26 agosto 2016

Delain - Interview


What a wonderful thing to have the chance to spend some time talking with such a talented, beautiful and sensitive iconic metal girl like Charlotte Wessels, vocalist of Delain. She is really one of a kind, very unique and precious pearl of today's symphonic metal  scenario. Let's find out what she revealed us during a break of their summer festivals tour, in this delightful chat we had on the phone, while she was home, sitting on the couch, petting her cats.

Interview by Margherita Realmonte (MEG)

LFdM: Hi Charlotte, I'm very happy and proud to welcome you to Les Fleurs Du Mal Webzine. Thanx a lot for spending your time with us. If I am not wrong this 2016 means a decade of Delain: it is 10 years since Lucidity came out. It's been a pretty long ride already. What can you tell us about these years, how would you possibly sum it up in few words?
CW: Wow! It's hard to sum it up in just a couple of words, it's been a wonderful ride. We had also pretty tough times, but I can be very proud for the level we are now. It is useful to look back and see all the things you've been going through to reach the point where you are now, how much hard work and hard periods we faced...yes, I can say I am definitely really satisfied nowadays

LFdM: Do you plan some other special surprises for your long time fans for this anniversary, I mean, apart from the EP Lunar Prelude?
CW: Yeah, of course, we're planning a very special event. We have a 10 years annivarsary show coming up on the 10th of December. The money raised will go to the Sophie Lancaster foundation. But I prefer not to talk about this that much right now...

LFdM: I imagine, you don't want to spoil this special event in advance. What a great idea! It sounds better than any Greatest Hits collection!
CW: Yeah, we always prefer to create something new, not to give some old stuff, you know...there could also be a DVD one day, who knows...

LFdM: And what a better way to celebrate a special event than an upcoming new album? Would you please introduce Moonbathers to our readers? Why this title?
CW: If people enjoy human contradictions they will enjoy this album as well. Writing songs, for me, is always a matter of balancing dark and bright sides. I tried to find some metaphore to express this and then this title came up to my mind. For me the moon is the icon of light into the darkness. Of course it has many kind of romantic references, you know, instead of Sunbathers I preferred Moonbathers, for those who find themselves more comfortable in the darkness, since this image is much more evocative and closer to our style and sound, which is typical Delain, since we worked with the same producers and sound engeneers. Concerning the lyrics I think it is a very varying album. I mean, if we consider each song individually, we can see they go in different directions stylistically speaking. There are tracks that are loud and others that are louder, but there are also  more sensitive ones...it's an album for everybody.

LFdM: I had the chance to see the beautiful cover artwork on Facebook as soon as you posted it and I loved it at first sight. Can you tell us something about it?
CW: Oh, yes, we worked with the same guy for years, the designer of Lunar Prelude and other albums, the neo Victorian illustrator Glenn Arthur. It was a long and pretty hard process. He had to mix our tips both with exsisting and with new material, so it was a challenging task for sure! We had to chose among many proposals and this one was the best, at the end, closer to our original idea.


LFdM: I had the chance to give a quick prelistening to Moonbathers and it sounds really great, but I already have my fave songs, so I am curious about the tracks you find more meaningful or about the ones you like the most for some reasons?
CW: Thank you very much. No, there's no song in particular coming through my mind right now, but if you have some questions about some tracks you can ask.

LFdM: Well I was wondering whose idea was to cover Scandal by The Queen? Why did you chose that song?
CW: Oh, well, it was mine. Yeah, I am pretty masochist in this sense. You know, there are some who think that you should never pick your finger over a giant, but I wanted to give it a try. Besides, it's not even one of their most famous songs. I didn't want to completely change it but it had to show our sign somehow, so I decided to sing it on a higher register and a bit faster too, which was a very very challenging choice, since Freddie is such an amazing singer. In the end it was a very funny process, we had to make the song our own but at the same time we didn't want to show disrespect, by changing it too much. The funny detail is that, you know, there are lots of bands covering songs without asking, but we did and we had the exclusive permission from Brian May himself! A kind of blessing.

LFdM: Wow! How cool is that?!? It came out a really good job, by the way! What can you tell us about Danse Macabre? I like that track a lot, since it makes come to my mind the medioeval iconography about the myth of Life and Death, dancing together. Which was your source of inspiraton?
CW: Thank you very much. Yeah, the medioeval art and poetry were sources of inspiration, of course. This song basically is about a woman who is in love with death, there's a film script about it too. The lyrics are about procrastinating a date that will naturally come, in a sort of desire and fear kind of feeling, like “not yet, wait for another day...” but at the same time there's also this will to meet death...

LFdM: What can you tell me about The Glory And The Scum? Where did you find inspiration for it?
CW: It is a song about the coexistence of a bright and a dark side in all of us as human beings. The inspiration came from a book by Steven Pinker “The Better Angels Of Our Nature” which is about the history of violence in the world. It is a book that I got from a friend in a moment I was feeling really really down, basically because of all the shit happening in the world, you know, especially in Europe recently, not that the place where shit happens has much relevance, but I was really affected by that, I had friends involved and I was feeling very depressed, down and confused, but I didn't want to admit it too loud, since it would have meant giving those idiots too much importance for their acts of extreme violence. Luckily this friend of mine gave me this book and I think I really needed to read it in that specific moment of my life. It states that we are in facts living in one of the most peaceful eras, historically speaking. So this song came out of those feelings and from a XVII th's century philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who said that we as humans are both the glory and the scum of the universe.

LFdM: Wow! Pretty deep thoughts. What about the metaphore of the butterfly in the songs Chrysalis and The Monarch?
CW: As I already said, as a lyricist, no matter how dark is the place the song comes from there has to be a light at the end of the tunnel. In Chrysalis- The Last Breath there is none. It's a pretty depressing song, I couldn't see hope at the end of it, it didn't fit right both with the lyrics and with the general feelings of the song in its structure, so I kind of broke my own rules when it comes to that and I needed to make peace with that, to find a resolution for that, so The Monarch followed. We were at the end of the recording process and these lyrics I wrote as a poem came out, we all liked the humming chorus and so we wanted to include this song at least as a bonus track, but in the end it was chosen to be the last one of the album and I was so happy for that!

LFdM: Hope restored! Happy ending then. I wonder if there's still any other song you would love to cover...
CW: I'd like to sing something by Radiohead or Nick Cave, who have been my main sources of inspiration, but I still don't know if their songs are fit for our sound and style, even if we rearrange them...it's hard to imagine what the result would be, but I'd be very honoured to have this chance. At the moment they are songs that I sing while riding my bicycle, oh my God, that's the most Dutch thing I ever said (laughs) but it was just to give you an idea, or under the shower...

LFdM: Who knows, in some side projects, one day...
CW: Well, yeah maybe, but I have no plans at the moment

LFdM: I am also curious to know if you are planning to shoot some other videos from this album, apart from Suckerpunch...
CW: Yes we are!

LFdM: Maybe to promote the next single?
CW: Make a bet, what do you think it will be?

LFdM: If I had to chose I would bet on The Glory And The Scum, or Hands Of Glory...
CW: The Glory And The Scum is definitely our focus track right now and there's another one that I won't tell, but you are close, you're definitely on the right track! Hands Of Glory was one we considered too, but you'll see pretty soon.

LFdM: Ok, you don't want to ruin the surprise, I see. How is it being a woman in such a testosteronic world as metal? In a music field which is not pop, I mean...
CW: Well, you know, recently there's also more estrogen in this field, I have always been able to deal with guys and girls as well, I don't think gender is a way to define people skills, it's more about character, to me.

LFdM: I see, but did you ever find it kind of stressfull, or hader for you as a woman  to see your work and talent recognized?
CW: Oh, well, I think there's sexism of course, but like there's everywhere, not necessarily in a larger amount in this field, I mean. In general I think women have to speak three times louder than men to get listened to, but I don't find it to be a specific feature to the metal world or the music world in general.

LFdM: In your band you are not the only girl, since 2014 there's Merel too. How is your relationship with her and the other members of the band? Are you like friends hanging out also when the spotlights are over or when the tour ends you go each one their separate ways until the next album?
CW: When we didn't tour as extensively as we do now, we used to hang out together a lot, we went to the cinema, stuff like that, you know... but recently I think I see my band mates more than I see my fiancée. (laughs) We spend a lot of time together touring and playing, so when we have a bit of time off, we try to spend it with our onwn families and sometimes, even then I try things like whisky tasting with the guys, We are whisky's aficionados and we attended whisky tasting courses too, so if we weren't on each other's laps all the time already we would always try to find a way to meet. Our friendship is on this kind of level.

LFdM: Aweee! It's so nice to listen to something like this, indeed! Now I am curious to know how does the songwriting process work in your band at this point?
CW: I have to say that everybody's contribution is precious, everybody is free to add their ideas. In general the main arrangements are written by Martijn and the lyrics by me, we work together until the basic structure of the song is done, the main melodies are there and then the others propose suggestions and changings.

LFdM: Is there a band or singer you would love to work with, in studio or on stage?
CW: Yeah, the same of the covers! (laughs)

LFdM: So I bet you will answer the same again if I ask you what kind of music do you usually listen to...
CW: Yeah! Exactly! (laughs) sorry. Well, I listen to all kind of music to be honest. When I'm on tour I use to listen to alternative music or even pop music, but when I am home and I am not surrounded by loud metal all the day, I listen to my metal records.

LFdM: Talking about live acts, are you planning an extensive tour throughout Europe?
CW: Yes, definitely

LFdM: What about some other gigs in Italy? I know you played here some months ago, any new dates in our Country?
CW: Actually we have no gig scheduled in Italy for this leg of the tour so far. Sorry. I really hope we could make it there I have many pleasant memories about our gig there.

LFdM: We hope to have the chance to see you live again here one day. What do you think of your Italian audience, of our country more in general? Did you have the chance to visit some place in particular?
CW: The audience was really amazing, we loved it. I love Italian food and your art in general. I had the chance to spend a little bit of time in Florence for my artistic studies and I absolutely loved that time. I'm also thinking that weve been working with a lot of Italian people recently...

LFdM: Great! Italy can be a really cool place for holidays too...
CW: For sure!

LFdM: Talking about live performances, do you prefer festivals or haedlining acts?
CW: That's a million dollars question. Well playing festivals is always a challenge and a great chance to reach new people, there's a lot of adrenaline, since the audience is often pretty huge, so it gives very chilling feelings and I am usually pretty nervous. but also headlining acts are great! It's a great satisfaction when you see people coming to your own shows just for you, it's amazing, very intimate. Both are charming chances for different reasons. I know it could look like a kind of politically correct answer, but it is the truth.

LFdM: For exampe, during festivals do you have the chance to listen to any other artists in the bill, before or after your own performance?
CW: Yeah! It happens not so frequently, but for examole on Download festival we had a lot of time to watch other bands on stage, since we were there since friday and we had to play on sunday. We saw Korns, oh my God! They are amazing and also Juliette And The Licks, really really cool stuff indeed. She is a true performer, she can sing really well an also dance, she's a complete artist, I enjoyed these shows a lot.

LFdM: What do you think about social media?
CW: I think they can be very useful for the band, it's really nice to have such direct contact with the audience, such a prompt kind of feedback. I really like that, but of course there's also the negative side of the medal, for example once I received hate messages and death threats because I performed without a bra and the clothes showed the sign of my boobs. What a horrible crime I committed!

LFdM: Oh My! That's incredible!
CW: Yeah! That's totally ridiculous, but you know you have to deal with the bad and the good side of the things, so in general I love social media, because they give a band the chance to get closer with the fans and that's very important, in my opinion.

LFdM: If you weren't a singer, what would you have done for a living?
CW: You mean if I wasn't a singer at all or in Delain? I would have written songs for other singers to perform and if music alltogether is out of the question I would have written novels, or scripts for the cinema or TV fictions. I also love painting, so...

LFdM: You would have become and artist any way.
CW: Yes, definitely!

LFdM: What would you say as a kind of advice or suggestion to young people, especially girls, trying to make their love and passion for music their job?
CW: I would just say believe in yourselves and be absolutely dedicated. Take all the chances to do all the music that comes to your mind and never give up. Grab all the chances that you can grab, as I did when I was jut 15, when I was part ot at least 2 choirs and 3 bands, or as I did 10 years ago with Delain and we all know how that collabiration ended...so, if you want music to be your job, be focussed and try to make as many experiences as you possibly can, they are never enough.

LFdM: Better self taught music or school music?
CW: I'd say both, from my own experience. I had music lessons as a teenager and I learnt a lot from that, but then I experienced on my own. At the moment, after 10 years of Delain I feel like I might need to take some other lessons again, I shold train to expand what I can do with my voice more seriously.

LFdM: Wow! Listening to you makes me think about all those kids trying to become somebody just by participating to talent shows. I think they are pretty deceitful and they make young people think it's a lot easier than it really is to achieve some meaningful goals in the show biz in general. Do you second this? What is your opinion about talent shows?
CW: Well...I think that true artists would never take part to this kind of stuff, they would never play their own songs in a contest like Idols or similar shows. I think it's just for those who wanna be a voice and a face, not real artists.

LFdM: But then I think to Adam Lambert who is the singer in The Queen now and start to believe that maybe these shows can really find out talented people...
CW: Yeah, that's an example, there's always the exception, but I think that a talent like Adam Lambert would have found his way out in any case, even without Idols. For this reason I would never say that nothing good could come out of this kind of shows. But, as an artist, I personally wouldn't like to take part to someone else's game, you know...

LFdM: Yeah, I can imagine. Now I am over with the questions and with the time! It was such a pleasant chat that I completely got lost. Thanks a lot Charlotte, you've been very kind and we can't wait to see you performing live again here in Italy. Have a great day!
CW: You too! Thank you very very much, it was my pleasure! Bye bye!







giovedì 25 agosto 2016

Delain - Moonbathers

"Moonbathers"

Release date: August 26th, 2016


Style: Symphonic metal

Country: Netherlands

Tracklist:
1. Hands Of Gold
2. The Glory And The Scum
3. Suckerpunch
4. The Hurricane
5. Chrysalis - The Last Breath
6. Fire With Fire
7. Pendulum
8. Danse Macabre
9. Scandal
10.Turn The Lights Out
11.The Monarch

plus Bonus CD

Artwork by Glenn Arthur

Quinto album in studio per la symphonic band della terra dei tulipani, per festeggiare in grande il decimo anno dall'uscita del loro primo lavoro nel 2006. Sembra ieri, in effetti, che Lucidity ha visto la luce, ma i Delain, nonostante i numerosi avvicendamenti nella line-up originale, sono rimasti una delle band di sicuro interesse all'interno di uno scenario denso di concorrenza, che avrebbe potuto spazzarli via in un soffio. Non è successo. A mio modesto parere, sebbene questi simpatici olandesi non abbiano inventato nulla di nuovo, si sono sempre contraddistinti per quel loro tipico sound che riesce a risultare contemporaneamente cattivo e accattivante, mai noioso o stucchevole e che si sposa magnificamente con la vocalità di una front girl di tutto rispetto e talento.

Questo Moonbathers, uscita prevista verso la fine di agosto, conferma la sicurezza di un combo che ha innalzato le quote rosa, arruolando alle sei corde la seconda chitarra solista di Merel Bechtold, che già da un paio d'anni duella a colpi di plettro con Timo Somers, contribuendo a creare quel quid in più che li contraddistingue.

Undici le tracce del nuovo lavoro, più altri 6 pezzi nell'imperdibile edizione speciale con un bonus cd, in cui si possono godere le versioni live e quelle con orchestra dei singoli trainanti. "Hands Of Gold" apre l'album con un'intro anthemica e trascinante al termine della quale Charlotte si inserisce con la potente sicurezza delle sue corde vocali, che le permettono di prendere note altissime e di creare anche un growl di tutto rispetto.
"The Glory And The Scum" inizia con una bella schitarrata e la voce angelica di Charlotte, che sui toni alti si trova sempre a suo agio e continua con un ritornello accattivante, ma non quanto quello della successiva "Suckerpunch", il cui video già da un po' è stato pubblicato su youtube come primo singolo e che dà appena un'idea della potenza di Moonbathers. "Hurricane" è una dolce e triste ballad in cui spiccano gli effetti delle tastiere del membro fondatore Martijn Westerholt e un ritornello di quelli che poi ti ritrovi a canticchiare di tanto in tanto nei momenti di malinconia. "Chrysalis - The Last Breath" conserva quell'aura di romantico mal de vivre, corredata da una vena poetica dai toni disperati gridati in quel “you're nothing without me”, chiudendo il pezzo con armoniosi vocalizzi, che in pochi come la Wessels possono permettersi. Dopo due pezzi un po' dimessi, sebbene bellissimi, si torna con l'aggressiva "Fire With Fire", che riporta in auge la vena più dura del metal dei Delain e che dal vivo promette scintille.
"Pendulum", che inizia con il ringhio corale “Faster!”, è un altro pezzo che dal vivo accenderà il parterre con braccia alzate ed headbanging.
"Danse Macabre", aperta dai vocalizzi di Charlotte, evoca un immaginario permeato dal folklore medioevale europeo in cui il mondo dei morti e dei vivi si mescola in una danza senza fine, su un refrain molto trascinante, per poi concludersi con le stesse armonizzazioni vocali d'apertura.
Una delle tracce più intriganti di questo bell'album è senza dubbio la cover dei Queen, "Scandal", pezzo dell'album Miracle del 1989, resa tutto sommato non troppo diversamente dall'originale, ma cantata in una tonalità superiore, quasi come una sfida umilmente lanciata da Charlotte all'indimenticabile e inarrivabile Freddie, ma nella quale tuttavia, l'affascinante e talentuosa dama rossa sembra cavarsela egregiamente. Certo, è stata una mossa coraggiosa, ma devo ammettere che questo pezzo ci sta così bene nell'album, per la sua innegabile attualità, che viaggia comodamente accanto ai pezzi più movimentati, tanto che sembrerebbe fatto apposta e non essere uscito quasi 30 anni fa.
"Turn The Lights Out" è forse l'unica traccia che non aggiunge nulla di significativo, né dal punto di vista delle lyrics né da quello strumentale e degli arrangiamenti, rimanendo una canzone gradevole e molto cantabile, ma a mio parere non veramente utile alla progression che l'album ha tenuto fino a questo punto, in cui va volgendo quasi al termine.
"The Monarch" è una ballad che, come in un ciclo, chiude l'album e riporta speranza dopo i toni tristi e disperati di Chrysalis e l'inno alla morte di alcuni pezzi successivi.

Quasi interamente strumentale, con un'intro piuttosto lunga e un coro di appena una decina di versi, questo pezzo si contraddistingue per la splendida melodia delle tastiere e e la raffinata poesia in cui il tema della catarsi e della trasformazione per non morire mai davvero, si inebria dolcemente con il leit motiv.

Moonbathes, la cui copertina è un gioiellino di grafica targato Glenn Arthur, è uno di quegli album che gli appassionati del genere non possono non annoverare nella propria collection, ma che anche i neofiti potranno apprezzare appieno.

7,5/10
Margherita Realmonte (Meg) 


www.delain.nl

Thy Catafalque stream third song of upcoming album


Hungarian avant-garde metal outfit THY CATAFALQUE are streaming the third track taken from their forthcoming seventh album 'Meta', which will be out in stores on September 16th. 

The eclectic track "10^(-20) Ångström" is now exclusively streaming via Metalitalia

Regarding "10^(-20) Ångström", mastermind Tamás Kátai comments: "This is a song about the smallest subatomic elements of life on Earth. After the death of a life, these subatomic particles re-arrange themselves into new, different life forms. All existance is based on cosmic star dust on this planet. " 

Hierophant announce new album and stream first track


Italian sludgy death metal outfit HIEROPHANT are now unleashing the first track from their forthcoming album 'Mass Grave'. 
The band will release their fourth full-length on November 4th. 
 The title track "Mass Grave" is exclusively streaming via Metalitalia 

Regarding "Mass Grave", HIEROPHANT comment: "This song expresses the path we took in the best way. It represents a new chapter for the band since we have had changes in our line-up. The world is falling apart day by day and we are all part of this enormous and disgusting mass grave." 

The artwork of 'Mass Grave' has been created by the renowned Italian painter Paolo Girardi (INQUISITION, THE LION'S DAUGHTER) 



Track-list 
01. Hymn of Perdition 
02. Execution of Mankind 
03. Forever Crucified 
04. Mass Grave 
05. Crematorium 
06. In Decay 
07. Sentenced to Death 
08. The Great Hoax 0
9. Trauma 
10. Eternal Void 

Line-up 
Lorenzo: vocals, guitar 
Ben: drums 
Steve: guitar 
Giacomo: bass, backing vocals 

MORTIIS IL DOWNLOAD GRATUITO DI 'GEISTESKRANK'


Mortiis pubblicherà il quarto singolo digitale, "Geisteskrank," il 26 agosto. 

La canzone, che non è inclusa nell'ultimo album The Great Deceiver, inizia come remix di "The Shining Lamp of God" per poi trasformarsi in un brano nuovo. 
"Geisteskrank" fa parte della colonna sonora del cortometraggio del regista norvegese Reinert Kiil Vardøger. "Il titolo originario di 'The Shining Lamp of God' era 'Zeitgeist' ma poi l'abbiamo cambiato" spiega Mortiis. "
Reinert Kiil l'ha però voluta utilizzare per la colonna sonora della prima parte del suo film".
Il film Vardøger sarà scaricabile gratuitamente con la canzone. The Great Deceiver, il nono album di Mortiis, è stato pubblicato qualche mese fa da Omnipresence.


"Geisteskrank/Vardøger" free single/video download