2024 Anniversary Series 062: Atrocity – Atlantis

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

Germany’s Atrocity are a bit of a chameleonic beast. I first discovered them thanks to a free mp3 download of ‘Gods of Nations’ on a website somewhere about twenty years ago (yes, websites used to do that and I discovered many bands through such things. Relapse was great for it and so were Century Media). I thought it was Century Media, but apparently it was Napalm Records that released this so maybe it was a magazine CD… Anyway, a free mp3 gave me my first taste of German death metal/gothic metal and it really pulled me in. Then there was ‘Cold Black Days’ and that was me gone. We’ve said it before about the AS; some records are here purely for my childhood nostalgia and this is a definite contender.

‘Reich of Phenomena’ is a really punishing start to the record, channeling the band’s death metal roots but putting a definite dose of gothic atmosphere into it. When you know that Atrocity’s lineup also doubles as the lineup for Leaves Eyes, German gothic metal stalwarts, that makes a lot of sense. There is a lot of gothic atmosphere permeating throughout ‘Atlantis’, something that we hadn’t heard in death metal since the earliest days of Paradise Lost and even some of Tiamet’s transitionary work. It is a sound that you didn’t see a huge amount of in the early 2000s, which gave them an opportunity with the likes of the goth pop metal ‘Cold Black Days’, which is just insanely catchy. Everything about ‘Atlantis’ was a draw to 18 year old me, the mixing of styles between earworm goth metal tunes and chugging brutality (‘Atlantean Empire’), the mythical themes and the grandiosity of it all. I was hooked and much, much later in life I have come to appreciate much more elements in it than I had even noticed at the beginning. The swooning orchestral moments of ‘Clash of the Titans’, the bulldozing start of ‘Apocalypse’ that reminds me of Vader, it all works to make ‘Atlantis’ an intriguingly unique proposition after all this time.

I had never experienced anything like Atrocity when I first heard this record. I was drawn in by ‘Cold Black Days’ and ‘Gods of Nations’, two songs that I would say are now further down the list of favourite tracks on this record. It is always the first bands and records that you like when discovering new genres and music as a youngling that stick with you, and while ‘Atlantis’ would probably never be counted as an all time classic, it has stuck with me for 20 years and is somehting I still listen to for that warm nostalgic feeling for my late teens. But it is also a bit of a hidden gem, lurking in the European underground from the early 00s that sounds a lot bigger than its peers. Seek it out for a treat.

https://www.facebook.com/AtrocityOfficial

Review: Warfield Within – Pure Purge

Review by Sandre the Giant

The new EP from German death/thrashers Warfield Within comes hot on the heels of last year’s ‘Beast Inside’, and is an exclusively digital release through Bandcamp. There was a thirteen year wait between their 2010 debut and last year’s full length, so it is good to see they haven’t rested on their laurels and got straight back out there with ‘Pure Purge’.

‘Zeitgeist’ is a big chunky opener, solid thrash riffs reminding me of modern Destruction with death metal vocals and brutal double kicks. That’s the general tone of the whole piece, a mix of Teutonic heavy thrash and a Benediction/Bolt Thrower style of death metal, giving you six tracks of solid ragers. ‘Godlike’ has a bit more of a savage edge to it that I like, feeling a little rawer in the vocals which matches well with the rolling chugs. The guttural ‘World War III’ is my personal highlight, a real bruiser that has a little hardcore vibe sneaking in there too, while the title track is a steamrolling finale of riffs, led by a mighty hardcore breakdown at the beginning before the thrash kicks in at full gear..

‘Pure Purge’ might not light the world on fire with originality, but when you need a solid thud of straightforward thrashy death metal with a real weight to it and an undeniable enthusiasm for crushing brutality, you could do a lot worse than Warfield Within. A satisfying 23 minutes of power and death.

https://www.facebook.com/warfieldwithinmetal/

https://warfieldwithin.bandcamp.com/album/pure-purge

2024 Anniversary Series 054: Edguy – Space Police

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

When we last talked about Edguy, not that long ago (AS edition 038), they had just begun to take the first steps towards a bigger hard rock influenced heavy metal sound and the tongue had started to appear lodged firmly in cheek. Well, fast forward a decade on and we get what is, to this day, the final Edguy album. Which for me and my beloved wife, along with millions of power metal fans, is very sad. But to be honest, they left us with ‘Space Police – Defenders of the Crown’, which as a final(!) record, is a pretty fair result for us.

The dirty little secret about ‘Space Police’ is that, despite its ludicrous title and artwork, it is one of the strongest Edguy records and probably the best overall record they’d done since ‘Mandrake’. Sure, the ones in between had their moments, and were all a lot of fun, but ‘Space Police’ was full of the best bits of Edguy. You had rampaging power metal singalong belters like ‘Sabre & Torch’ and ‘The Realms of Baba Yaga’, which is the most Iron Maiden they’ve ever sounded. You had the tongue in cheek stuff like ‘Love Tyger’ (what a banger though) and the somehow brilliant cover of Falco’s ‘Rock Me Amadeus’, and you had the big power ballads like ‘Alone in Myself’. And if you had the bonus edition like me, you had Tobi’s ode to ‘England’ and all the things that have clearly been a big influence on him. It makes everything make sense if you think of latter day Edguy as Monty Python and Mr Bean seen through the lens of Maiden, Priest and Saxon though, doesn’t it? Not every song hits though; I’m still not sure what they were going for on ‘Do Me Like a Caveman’, but they can’t all be winners can they?

Classic hard rock and heavy metal have always been the lifeblood of Edguy’s work, and ‘Space Police’ was the record that took them as close as they could be to becoming that. If they had continued on instead of going on hiatus, we could be talking about them headlining massive stadium shows like Sabaton, but we can’t. Hopefully they will come back again one day, just to cheer up my wife at least. If not, they leave behind a singularly unique and recognisable discography in European power metal, and in heavy metal circles as a whole. Seriously guys, I mean Avantasia is great and all, but I need to hear ‘Love Tyger’ live once more in my life.

https://www.facebook.com/edguy

2024 Anniversary Series 050: Grave Digger – Heavy Metal Breakdown

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

German heavy metal legends Grave Digger are one of the continent’s most enduring and beloved institutions, but 40 years ago they were young and hungry to play heavy fucking metal. Their debut record, ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’, is 40 years old this month and burst into a world dominated by the NWOBHM. But Grave Digger and their brethren Accept, Helloween and Scorpions were in the process of pulling some of that influence away from the English and back into Europe. ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ was the starting point for what has become a long and illustrious career.

‘Headbanging Man’ is what I am, as soon as this track comes on. When you think of modern heavy metal/trad metal, you immediately go back to the British scene of the late 70s and early 80s for influences. But there is as much to be said for albums like this, and tracks like that classic opener, as an unspoken influence looming large. Grave Digger’s classic sound has prevailed for 40 years at this point, and it all began here. ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ has everything an old school metaller could ever want; galloping, speed metal riffing, massive hooks and enough solos and guitar licks to please even surly air guitar heroes. The title track is one of Germany’s greatest heavy metal tunes, and still sounds brilliant after 40 years. That is a key factor in the lasting appeal of Grave Digger, and of this record in their mammoth discography, you could play any of these tracks today and it hasn’t aged a day. That is the sign of a REAL classic, especially in the trad metal circles. You’ve got so many pieces here that you could argue helped reaffirm speed metal’s growing popularity, particularly closer ‘Heart Attack’ and the rapid fire ‘Tyrant’, while you’ve got the obligatory ‘power ballad’ track ‘Yesterday’, giving a bit of variety too.

In my opinion, Grave Digger do not get anywhere near enough credit in the wider world for their contributions to heavy metal as a whole. Their influence on European, particularly German, heavy metal is utterly inescapable, but records like this will stand up against most NWOBHM classics that everyone would argue are the best. ‘Heavy Metal Breakdown’ has it all, and has had it all for 40 years. Grave Digger have just stuck to their guns, put out some all timer classic records and been true metal warriors for four decades. They deserve our love and respect, and this record deserves some kind of Hall of Fame recognition. A legend begins.

https://www.facebook.com/gravediggerofficial

Review: Vorga – Beyond the Palest Star

Review by Sandre the Giant

German black metallers Vorga are back with another entry in their cosmic journey of darkness, ‘Beyond the Palest Star’, out now through Transcending Obscurity. We reviewed their debut ‘Radiant Gloom’ back in 2019 here, and it has been very enjoyable watching their sound build and mature through their debut full length ‘Striving Towards Oblivion’ two years ago. Will the cold beauty of space inspire quality once more?

Opener ‘Voideath’ is a grimly epic work, spacious songwriting allowing the more traditional blasting and tremolo riffing to soar and yet maintain their severity. Vorga’s work has an uncanny catchiness about it, not that there are big hooks or singalong choruses but in a most insidious way. Tracks like the swelling ‘Magical Thinking’ linger in your consciousness for a long time, and I think that’s why ‘Beyond the Palest Star’ is appealing to me so much at the moment. The songwriting is superb, multilayered and always moving in interesting directions. There’s so much melody throughout, threading its way through a genuinely savage record and keeping it memorable. The blackened gallop of ‘The Cataclysm’ is gorgeous, and as the album progresses the scope just broadens out until you can’t see the edges anymore. Vorga have really grasped a true sense of limitless space in their sound. As a guitar tone akin to keyboard effects plays across the sweeping closer ‘Terminal’, it adds just the perfect amount of extra ‘otherness’ to the melodies that your galaxial feel is complete.

When you have a beautifully sci-fi album cover and deal with science fiction themes in your black metal, there’s always going to be loads of ‘epic’ or ‘cosmic’ cliches thrown around about your work. But Vorga has transcended past mere laziness into a galaxy of pure, black radiance. ‘Beyond the Palest Star’ is a journey, an album that sounds genuinely huge and yet never loses its edge or its fury. Its blackened claws are reaching out into the universer, grasping for light in the endless black and finding glories beyond our reckoning. A triumphant return for one of modern black metal’s most memorable acts.

https://www.facebook.com/VorgaBand/

https://vorga.bandcamp.com/

https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/

Live Review: Blind Guardian/The Night Eternal (12/04/24)

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

There are few bands on this earth that I buy live tickets for me and my wife faster than Blind Guardian. A favourite band of mine for over 20 years, I have their entire back catalogue on disc and I regard their 2016 gig at Glasgow’s QMU as the best live experience I’ve ever had (they played ‘Surfin USA’ for God’s sake!) So those tickets were bought last year and finally, the date rolled round. The anticipation was killing me as the wife and I headed to the old Galvanizers hall at SWG3 in Glasgow to go hobbit hunting!

Can I just say straight off that I didn’t even look to see the support band for tonight until the day of the show, because frankly I didn’t care. I was here for Guardian. Which made fellow German trad metallers The Night Eternal an absolute joy to discover. The best kind of support band (one you didn’t even see coming), their sound is classic heavy metal ala Angel Witch with that slightly gloomy edge that In Solitude used to be perfect at. If you’ve heard Runemaster, imagine that meets early NWOBHM. Charismatic frontman Ricardo Baum said this was the biggest crowd they’d ever played in front of, and as we watched his Matt Barlow-meets-Kevin Heybourne voice kick out classic heavy metal jams with the rest of them, this won’t be the biggest crowd for long. A sensational find.

https://www.facebook.com/thenighteternal

But we all know why we’re here. This is only the second time that Blind Guardian have played in Scotland, I was there the first time and will tell everyone who will listen that it is the best gig I’ve ever seen. Well, this wasn’t quite as good as that, but not for the lack of trying. The less intimate venue was probably the difference, but man do the Guardian deserve an arena to perform in. Opening with the classic ‘Imaginations from the Other Side’, they proceeded to run through an entire evening of classic speed and power metal staples. We had singalong after singalong, to ‘Nightfall’, ‘Lost in a Twilight Hall’, ‘This Will Never End’, ‘Majesty’ and of course, ‘The Bard’s Song’ which was almost completely done by us. Lucky, Hansi said, as he’d forgotten the words by this point. His dry, droll wit was a welcome breather between songs, but his voice has never sounded better. A rare band these days that actually do an encore, we were treated to ‘Sacred Worlds’, an arm-breaking and throat breaking singalong of classic ‘Valhalla’ and where else to finish but ‘Mirror Mirror’? An unbelievably performance by the true masters of power metal, gods among men and one of the greatest live experiences you’ll ever have. So good I only noticed the following DAY that they didn’t play ‘Lord of the Rings’! Well, you can’t have everything can you?

https://www.facebook.com/blindguardian

2024 Anniversary Series 043: Scorpions – Love at First Sting

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

As last year and now this year’s Anniversary Series has proven, the early 80s were when the nascent heavy metal scene began to splinter into those who remained ‘metal’ and those who started into the hard rock arena. We’ve already seen Motley Crue and Van Halen’s forays towards that style and here came Germany’s most famous (yeah I said it) heavy metal band, Scorpions, plunging into the charts with their biggest and most memorable album yet. ‘Love at First Sting’ was their ninth full length, and was a showcase of a band fully in hand of their powers after 82’s ‘Blackout’. Cetified triple Platinum in the US by this point, it celebrates 40 years of influence and hard rocking in 2024.

Now, the early work of Scorpions was decidedly hard rock and pretty fun if definitely underappreciated. Probably best know for that cover for ‘Virgin Killer’, they put out numerous cracking records in the late 70s but as the 80s rolled round, so did the mainstream appeal of hard rock and heayv metal. Into this world step Scorpions with all time mega banger ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’. You cannot fail to love this song if you’ve ever enjoyed any song that involves guitars in my opinion, it’s an instant classic. A challenger to ‘Winds of Change’ as Scorpions’s most famous song easily, but don’t let ‘Love at First Sting’ fool you into thinking this is a one hit album. Opener ‘Bad Boys Running Wild’ is just as fist pumping, while ‘I’m Leaving You’ has a ripping guitar solo. ‘Still Loving You’ is a classic power ballad, as all 80s heavy metal records seem to be legally required to have, while ‘Big City Nights’ is as anthemic a track as most 80s hard rock classics. If you’ve ever heard your favourite European power metal band pull out a track that feels like some kind of hard rock arena anthem, you’ve probably got Scorpions to thank for that. In fact, along with Accept, you don’t have a huge amount of European power metal without Scorpions and albums like this.

From Klaus Meine’s pitch perfect vocals through the killer riffs of Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, ‘Love at First Sting’ was the culmination of the journey from hard rock heroes to bona fide heavy metal icons. Sure, if you knew Scorpions before 1984 you knew this was inevitable, but this was the definite worldwide confirmation that Scorpions fucking ruled. Forty years on, this album is still incredibly fun and full of great tracks. You can almost trace the entire German power metal scene back to these guys and Accept, and that is reason enough alone to celebrate this legacy.

https://www.facebook.com/Scorpions

2024 Anniversary Series 040: Warlock – Burning the Witches

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

German heavy metal legends Warlock and their iconic frontwoman Doro Pesch have been a quiet obsession in the house of the Killchain for a long time, but this is our first opportunity to discuss their work, and it is the 40th anniversary of their debut record ‘Burning the Witches’. If you are familiar with heavy metal, you already know Warlock without realising, and if you’ve ever heard metal with a female vocalist, you’ve probably already seen the influence and importance of Doro as well. Warlock are a subtly important band in heavy metal history compared with some, but their place is assured and this is why.

Now, I don’t want to downplay the importance of Warlock’s debut as a musical effort, just to concentrate on Doro Pesch. ‘Burning the Witches’ is a perfect slab of NWOBHM for the era, except it was probably more important in the nascent German heavy metal scene as a partner to the works of Scorpions, Accept and soon-to-add Grave Digger. As a quartet, you could argue that these four played pivotal roles in the development of heavy metal and power metal all across the continent, and you can see all those elements coalescing in ‘Burning the Witches’ as well. But Warlock’s secret weapon was Doro. Her voice, containing all the power and might of her male counterparts, lent Warlock a “novelty” that led more people to notice them. Novelty in idea only, because as anyone who has heard this or any other record she featured on, Doro could more than hold her own. In fact, she continues to this day to be an instantly recognisable presence on records and those who doubted that a woman could be a legit frontperson for a heavy metal band learned quickly. Tracks like ‘Metal Racer’ and ‘Sign of Satan’ are classics, and Doro’s vocals really lifted ‘Without You’ and the title track to a higher level. It isn’t a flawless album of course, I mean, the album art isn’t exactly Michelangelo but there are worse 80s covers out there so you can’t hold that against it!

Not only are ‘Burning the Witches’ and Warlock foundational parts in the rise of Germany as a powerhouse in the trad metal scene, but who knows how many women have been inspired to take up instruments, microphones and give their hearts to heavy metal thanks to Doro’s dedication and passion. She became the focus of the band’s promotion, but it was her charisma and passion that led, not her look or image. ‘Burning the Witches ‘ was just the start of a four record in four years run for Warlock, all of which are classics but my own favourite was their last, ‘Triumph and Agony’. ‘Burning the Witches’ is a close second though, and what a legacy it has given us. Lee Aaron may be the Metal Queen, but Doro has taken her place alongside Rob Halford as a Metal Goddess, and long may their kingdom reign.

https://www.facebook.com/DoroPeschOfficial

Review: Acrid Death – Abominable Presence of Blight

Review by Sandre the Giant

German death metal newcomers Acrid Death formed during the pandemic from members of All It’s Grace, Driven by Entropy and Synchronic, and their debut full length ‘Abominable Presence of Blight’ is now here, out now through Rising Nemesis Records. They’ve set their sights on creating something pretty hellish and brutal, let’s see if they managed it.

Opener ‘In Light’ puts its foot directly onto the HM-2 pedal and gives you a minute or so of pure Dismember-esque perfection, leading straight into the guttural rage of ‘Huntsmen’ and giving us a taste immediately of what Acrid Death are going for. Pure, unadulterated old school Swedish death metal seems like the name of the game here, but it isn’t quite as straightforward or derivative. There’s more than a little Autopsy lurking underneath that guitar tone, particularly in the swampy ‘Negative Space’, and there’s definitely some Bolt Thrower/Asphyx about the rolling bombardment of ‘G.L.O.R.G.G.’, or the punishing ‘Heave’ but you get an overwhelming sense of Grave/Entombed throughout much of this record. Acrid Death have given everything a bit of a modern upgrade though, making sure ‘old school’ doesn’t sound old fashioned. It provides a satisfying balance, stopping anything sliding into ‘monotonous lazy old school death metal’ territory.

‘Abominable Presence of Blight’ is a strong opening salvo from Acrid Death, giving you all the modern death metal touches filtered through a rock solid old school approach. How they follow up will be key to their success, but given some of the riffs on this record I think they’ll probably be fine. I know that some of these songs will be hanging around my brain for a good while yet.

https://www.facebook.com/acriddeath

https://acriddeath.bandcamp.com/album/abominable-presence-of-blight

https://www.risingnemesisrecords.de/

2024 Anniversary Series 038: Edguy – Hellfire Club

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

In this house, we mourn the fact that German power metal stalwarts Edguy are no longer making new music. A band that really helped my wife get into metal a bit more, so much so in fact that we had an Edguy song as our first dance at our wedding. She got into them around ‘Rocket Ride’, but for me 2004’s ‘Hellfire Club’ was the entry point, particularly opening track ‘Mysteria’, which tickled every power metal anthem itch an 18 year old who’d just moved to a big city and found good records shops needed. That was twenty years ago now, and it makes me want to crumble into dust. But this record still rules, and here’s why.

‘Hellfire Club’ seemed like on the surface just a continuation of Edguy’s classically European power metal sound; it is full of that iconic melodic gallop and the odd power ballad as well. Tobias Sammet’s instantly recognisable voice hitting classic screams and crooning throughout with the kind of charisma he’d shown throughout the past decade or so. It was Sammet for me that made Edguy stand out amongst the crowds of power metal bands in the first place; he captivated a crowd at live shows like the glam rock or heavy metal singers of old in a way you just didn’t really see anymore. When his Avantasia side project took over his time and Edguy went on hiatus in the late 2010s, it was no real surprise that the rock opera full of his heroes had become a priority. Tobias always seemed set for something bigger and grander. But what ‘Hellfire Club’ did bring was the first taste of the more fun loving side of Edguy to the fore, particularly in lead single ‘Lavatory Love Machine’, which just seemed to an ode to Tobias wanting to fuck airplane stewardesses on his way to Brazil. I mean, fair enough, but it seemed a little jarring compared with some of their older material. ‘Rise of the Morning Glory’ managed to mix the obvious tongue in cheek with a track that is actually one of the most Stratovarius-esque rippers on the whole album, while ‘The Navigator’ has huge Iron Maiden vibes. Never let it be said that Edguy weren’t a band who were serious about their craft.

‘Hellfire Club’ may have been the album where the transition between classic power metal Edguy and more modern hard rock, more fun loving Edguy began but you’d be a fool to write off this record as a joke if you’d only ever heard ‘Lavatory Love Machine’. ‘Hellfire Club’ is full of proper European power metal bangers, and while some of the tracks definitely lean a little more into Sammett’s love of classic rock and metal you cannot argue with the gallop of ‘Mysteria’ or ‘We Don’t Need A Hero’. A sadly missed band in 2024, but one just tiptoeing on the apex of its powers in 2004.

https://www.facebook.com/edguy