Mattowarrior's Metal Madness

Ba d Bones' press release states the following: " If you can imagine Van Halen, Scorpions, Motorhead and a glimpse of Iron Maiden mixed together, you’ll be getting close to the unique sound of Bad Bones." They are from Italy and their second album, High Rollers was released in 2017.  Interestingly enough, right out of the gate with the first song, "American Days", I was reminded of something that would've come out of Blaze Bayley era Iron Maiden, or even Bayley's former band, Wolfsbane themselves. The Wolfsbane reference is there, not because they particularly sound like them, but because like that band, they will mix more traditional metal sections with hard old fashioned rock. I also hear an AOR sensibility in there (but for the sake of brevity I won’t go into AOR is in this particular review, (but check out this blog in the future into my analysis of that style of music). The production is clear and as cutting as day, It’s coo...

Parasyche are a recently formed technical thrash band coming out of the warmer climes of Chile. Their most recent album, Insanity Origins, came out in 2017, and is a mix of thrashier elements mixed with power metal and more modern and technical elements. The album starts out with "Box of Hate", a midpaced crusher with some wah flourishes. Odd timings put the song slightly in prog territory but for the most part it’s a thrasher.  The second song, "Vesania" has more a faster feel, sounding somewhere between Megadeth and (latter day) Kreator at times. The vocals feature a more melodic feel than the prior one, and this adds to the song’s appeal. The neo-classical solos that pepper the song also contributes to this contrast. "Detonation" is the third song, and it alternates between these two approaches. Political in bent lyrically, it’s an interesting song. The again, maze like riffs of this one, definitely make the song a cut above your aver...

Henry Metal is a new Metal Project/Band featuring the talents of one Henry Metal- calling it new almost feels wrong because the man has accomplished more in two years than some bands accomplish in a lifetime, that is, recording 8 albums of highly diverse Metal that recalls everything from the humor of Frank Zappa to the crunch and aggression of vintage Megadeth and back. Henry Metal has just released his eighth album, the directly titled “8”, and what follows is my interview with this highly talented musician and producer. Tell me how Henry M etal started and what inspired you. It kind of just came together as a hobby.   I didn’t want to overthink it or expect too much from it but just include a whole bunch of cool stuff from the rock and metal lineage in an honest and straightforward way.   I also saw an opening because commercial music seems so over processed and calculated that there’s no room for risks or mistakes.   I love risks and mistakes and wanted...

Deeper Vileness are an up and coming Black Metal band, residing in the United States, who, according to their Bandcamp.com site, “have been a subject of many rumors and controversy within the underground scene.” They play a classic style of Black Metal, deriving from many of the sounds of the second wave, to create a catchy and aggressive sound that will definitely appeal to the readers of this blog, and here is an interview with this mysterious band, consisting of  Kadesh (guitars, keys, vocals and noise ) and Arjun (guitars, bass, drums, mixing): Mattowarrior: How/when did you guys form? Kadesh:   The idea to create Deeper Vileness initially started in 2012 through 2013 but the band never actually recorded anything until 2014. Arjun: I joined Deeper Vileness in the early summer of 2017. The band had a good amount of demos out and were quite impressive for my standards. I wanted to make a contribution to Deeper Vileness as it seemed like ...

Mike Lepond should be a name that requires no introduction. Not only is he bassist in legendary Prog Metallers, Symphony X, but he is also the spearhead in his own project growing in notoriety, Mike Lepond’s Silent Assassins. Symphony X themselves are purportedly in the studio recording their follow up to 2015’s Underworld, but I thought this interview with Mike would focus on Silent Assassins, a band which you will definitely hear more of and about in the future. Here’s what he had to say: Mattowarrior: What inspired the project, what kinds of sounds are you wanting to get across with it?   ML - I had always been known for being a progressive metal bass player, but the truth is that my heart was always with the classic heavy metal bands of the 1980s. I wanted to show my fans where my roots came from and release a record in this genre. In addition, I have a love for Renaissance music and I infused some of that folky style within the tracks. Mattowarrior: How did y...