INFOS : webzine@femmemetalwebzine.net
Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.
INFOS : webzine@femmemetalwebzine.net
Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.
Label : AFM Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The talent assembled on the debut album from Wolfpakk is a virtual who’s who of metal royalty. Wolfpakk is the brainchild of Michael Voss (ex-Casanova & Mad Max) and Mark Sweeney (ex-Crystal Ball) and for their debut they have lined up a serious array of talent. For 52-minutes you get straight-forward full-on power metal euphoria on Wolfpakk. The majority of the vocals are performed by Michael Voss and Mark Sweeney with contributions from the all star cast of singers and musicians. The opener “Sirens” sets the tempo with its high powered metal assault. The only female singer is Michaela Schober from Tanz der Vampire. She is featured prominently on the 3rd track “Lost” and does an outstanding job, in conjunction with the male singer. Other highlights include, the pounding “Dark Horizons”,”Slam Down the Hammer”, “Let Me Die” and the epic “Wolfony” which closes the album. For the most part, the songs maintain a powerful melodic base and solid songwriting and musicianship. Even though you have so many big names on board, it doesn’t automatically guarantee success, but fortunately, the material is pretty strong and on full display on Wolfpakk.
Rating - 83/100
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Review by Tony Cannella
According to Wikipedia, Mound Road Engine was a Chrysler Corporation Automobile engine factory in Detroit, Michigan. Now it can also refer to a positively lethal power thrash metal outfit from Detroit. The debut 4-song, self-titled EP from Mound Road Engine features about 15-minutes of powerhouse metal, filled with dense riffs and plenty of attitude. The energetic, fast paced opener “The Break Up” kicks things off in a big way. The vocals of Cole are simply huge and dripping with venom on every line that she sings. Kicking off with a drum intro by James, “Digga v2” is next and offers a little melody to the proceedings as the song gradually speeds up and turns into a straight-up thrash fest, helped out by some great Pantera-like guitar riffs. “Ode” is next and is an angry, riff-tastic metal song with a power groove vibe to it. The final song “Servitude” begins with a Black Sabbath style guitar riff. This is pretty interesting song; it still maintains the heaviness, but features a pretty out of the ordinary chorus. Whether you like this song or not you have to give the band credit for trying something a little bit different, but I really don’t think this holds up to the rest of the material contained within. Mound Road Engine’s debut EP is like a shot of adrenalin to the heart. It will be interesting to see what they can come up with on a full-length, hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Spider Rock Promotion
Review by Tony Cannella
“Last Day of the Earth” is the title of the debut EP from Italian Progressive/Power Metal band Lunocode. The band lists artists such as Dream Theater, Stratovarius and Angra as influences, so it is easy to discern where Lunocode are coming from musically. Within this 6-song, 34-minute debut effort there can be no denying the musical capabilities of Lunocode. After a brief intro “Different Meaning”, the band is out the gates like a shot with the Stratovarius style opener of “Flow, My Tears”, the best song in my opinion. After the sound of thunder, a monster guitar riff begins the next track “Universal Plan”. This song continues the same up-tempo metal style that the previous track displayed. “Heart of the World” is next and it kicks off with a mini-drum solo before the track kicks in. The 9-minute ballad “Silent Thoughts” was probably my second favorite track and features a stellar vocal performance, despite its length, this song managed to hold my attention for its duration. “Last Day of the Earth” concludes on a rather quiet note with the acoustic “Invisible Tears”. The style that prevails for the most part on “Last Day of the Earth” is closer to Stratovarius style Power Metal than anything else I can think of. Vocalist Cecilia Menghi does a good job throughout the disc, she does not utilize an operatic style, like so many singers in the genre and instead she has a soaring, powerhouse metal style that really elevates the material on the album. “Last Day of the Earth” is a rock solid debut from Lunocode and one for fans who love energetic, guitar-driven power metal music.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : ATOM Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The Austrian Melodic Hard Rock band Cornerstone (not to be confused with the band featuring ex-Rainbow singer Doogie White), released their debut album “Head Over Heels” in 2008. Since that debut came out, the band has found a new drummer (Mike Pawlowitsch) and a new singer (Patricia Hillinger). Both make their Cornerstone debuts on “Somewhere in America”. Thankfully, Cornerstone’s brand of infectious, well written, performed and produced AOR style hard rock remains happily intact. That fact is punctuated by the cheerful opening number “Stay”. The next track “Rise and Shine” is just an excellent upbeat number. “Breathing for You” brings the tempo down a bit, but still packs a lot of effectiveness. And did I mention their new singer? Well, to say that she fits right in would be an understatement; she was an outstanding choice to take over the vocal duties. “Right or Wrong” is a wistful piano heavy ballad, with plenty of sensitivity. “Like a Stranger” is next and brings the tempo back to rocking proportions. “Somewhere in America”, maybe loses a little steam near the end, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is overwhelmingly more good than mediocre on “Somewhere in America”. Okay, it remains to be seen if Cornerstone is able to acquire a following worldwide. Let’s hope so because “Somewhere in America” strikes me as an album that has that potential.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Metal Blade Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The band Bitch, led by Betsy (Weiss) Bitch were one of the few female fronted metal bands that existed in the early 80s, they were also one of the more polarizing. Some people loved their straight-forward, in-your-face approach, while others were turned off by their overt references to s & m and sexual innuendo, never mind the fact that the band manage to deliver much of the material with tongue firmly planted in cheek – that went over a lot of people’s heads (Tipper Gore for example). But almost 30 years later there is no denying that Bitch were pioneers to the Femme Metal genre, okay maybe there is some deniability since it didn’t really catch on until much, much, much later, but still Bitch were one of the first to feature a dominant female vocalist and along the way they developed a devout cult following that exists to this day. Now the bands label Metal Blade has re-re-issued their 1982 EP “Damnation Alley” together on one disc with their 1983 debut full-length “Be My Slave” , remastered by Bill Metoyer and a bonus DVD featuring some live footage and other cool stuff for a new generation of Femme Metal fans to discover and enjoy. The first 10-songs are from 1983’s “Be My Slave”. By this time Bitch had a demo and an EP under their belt so the songs are more confident and the sound is more focused. “Right from the Start” gets the party started and is followed by what was to become a Bitch classic, “Be My Slave”. There is no lack of abrasiveness here in both music and lyrical subject matter as the band tears through songs like “Leatherbound”, “Heavy Metal Breakdown”, “In Heat” and “Make It Real (Make It Rock)”, which is a bitch repetitive but still a monster of a track. The majority of the material is very raw and tough – Betsy definitely had the tough girl, ‘I am in control’ attitude going. The last 5-songs are taken from the “Damnation Alley” EP, which spawned another Bitch classic “Live for the Whip” which still gets the audiences going to this day. “Let’s Go” concludes over one hour of music, this was never released before to my knowledge, so it is a cool way to end things. Bitch went on to release two more full-lengths and one EP before fading into obscurity for many years. In recent years however, Betsy has returned once again with Bitch as the band continues to deliver kick ass shows in both the U.S. and on the European festival circuit. Listening to these albums is like being revisited by an old friend. It’s been so long since I’ve heard them, and maybe the sound is a little dated (okay a lot dated), but the heart and spirit behind the music remains to same. It remains to be seen if Bitch will ever record again, even if they don’t at least they have left an enduring legacy – much to Tipper Gore’s chagrin.
Rating - 83/100
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Review by Tony Cannella
It is no secret that the country of Italy has become a major force in supplying the world with some great metal bands of all genres. One of the latest bands to emerge from Italy is the Melodic Metal band Windfall. Windfall keeps up the tradition of high quality Italian metal on their independently released debut EP “Crush”. Despite having a production that is not the greatest, “Crush” features some excellent material that is able to overcome some of the shortcomings as far as the production goes. Beginning with the interestingly titledb, Windfall simply tears into this opening number with fierce intensity. “Life Is a Challenge” is up next and gets my vote for best song. “Revenge” is next and features a cool prog-like keyboard opening before a monstrous riff joins the fray and pretty much is present through the remainder of the song. The EP is completed with the powerful title track “Crush”. The strong vocals of Francesca Tedeschi are a huge highlight for me and one of the reasons why “Crush” made a good impression, but the talents of the other band members cannot be ignored. Overall, Windfall possesses a great deal of talent and potential which is on full display on “Crush”.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Massacre Records
Review by Tony Cannella
Germany’s Voices of Destiny play symphonic heavy metal and features Maike Holzmann on lead vocals. Their debut album is titled “From the Ashes” and has just been released via Massacre Records. “From the Ashes” features 12-songs and 46-minutes worth of classy, bombastic, symphonic power metal. To put it quite simply, “From the Ashes” is an excellent debut. Maike Holzmann is the female lead vocalist for Voices of Destiny and her style is clean and sometimes operatic and very expressive. Her vocals are very well done and it is possible to understand every word she is singing. “From the Ashes” also includes its share of extreme male vocals (reminiscent of Epica) and there is some cool work done with the two styles, but the majority of vocals are handled by Maike.The songs on “From the Ashes” are melodic and very theatrical, dramatic and - at times - progressive. Highlights include: “Ray of Hope”, “Twisting the Knife”, “Icecold”, “Apathy” and “Red Winter’s Snow II: Blood and Stone”. With “From the Ashes”, Voices of Destiny are sure to appeal to fans of bands like Epica and Within Temptation and other female fronted symphonic metal bands. This is a good debut, that will hopefully catapult Voices of Destiny to the upper echelon of the symphonic power metal genre. Very well done.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Grailight Productions
Review by Tony Cannella
It is time to ratchet up the intensity. Russia’s Torsense plays symphonic Gothic/Death metal or as they describe their sound, Elemental Symphonic Death Metal.That last description is quite fitting, because the bands lyrics deal almost exclusively with the elements and nature. Checking out the song titles on their debut album “World of Harmony Without You” should be a strong indicator as to where their inspiration lies. The beautiful piano, classical style “Intro” kicks off the 39-minute “World of Harmony Without You” and segues into the melodic riffing of “Thunderstorm” before the song kicks into high gear. Male vocalist Evgeniy Ustinov (extreme vocals) and Female singer Evgeniya Rohlova trade off their contrasting vocals to great success. The gloriously chaotic “Dissolution of Ice” continues the frantic pacing. The lyrics are sung in Russian throughout the CD, so these song titles are the translations. I have to say, I was hugely impressed with the level of musicianship that Torsense displays throughout the CD. Songs like “At the Root of Volcano”, “Realm of Avalanches” and “Tornado” are quite intricate whilst still maintaining a brutal and melodic quality.To be honest with you, I have no idea if Torsense even still exists, since any new info on the band is scarce online. It would be a shame if they called it quits because “World of Harmony Without You” is a good debut and one that fans of Melodic Death Metal should gravitate to.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Wormhole Death/Aural Music
Review by Tony Cannella
Okay, let’s be honest. I have no idea what to make of the Swedish melodic death metal band The Way of Purity. In press pictures the band is seen posing wearing black masks and there is not a lot of information to be found on the band. Whether or not this is intended it certainly creates an air of mystery surrounding The Way of Purity. Their debut album is titled “Crosscore” and although it includes 10-songs, the whole thing is not even 30-minutes long. Of course, the most important thing is the music and you could have the greatest image – or non image – ever, but if the songs aren’t there than it’s pointless. Pointless, The Way of Purity is not. The belligerent opener, “The 23rd Circle Breeds Pestilence” sets the tempo and atmosphere. The majority of the vocals throughout the disc are done in death metal style but occasionally The Way of Purity will utilize soft, beautiful, melodic Female vocals, like on the fourth track “The Rise of Noah” which really offers a change of pace from the frenzied aggression of the previous three. The Female vocals return at various points throughout “Crosscore”. The overall vibe is one of aggression but The Way of Purity manages to sprinkle in bits of melody to go along with the mayhem that is presented on “Crosscore”. The songs on “Crosscore” are all in the 2-3 minute range, giving the CD a “Reign In Blood” by Slayer approach and the music simply rages. The Way of Purity also throws in some interesting twists in the music that keeps the listener guessing, and thinking ‘where did that come from’ ? Due to the length (or lack there of) of “Crosscore” The Way of Purity succeeds in putting together a ferocious and fast paced Death Metal beast of an album.
Rating - 83/100
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Label : Repo Records/Metropolis
Review by Tony Cannella
The Lovecrave are a Gothic Rock band from Italy. Their debut, “The Angel and the Rain” was released in 2006, now the band are back with their second offering, “Soul Saliva”. The Lovecrave combine a metal style with Gothic Rock and pop to create a pretty potent combination, that mixes together quite well. Francesca Chiara is the lead singer and although she may not be technically the greatest singer you will ever hear, still her voice is loaded with attitude, sexiness and has a very like-able quality to it. “Soul Saliva” features 10-songs and a playing time of 45-minutes worth of highly melodic, Gothic music with both metal and pop elements present. “The Other You” begins with a spoken word intro by Francesca and then quickly develops into a frenetic opener. A great chorus and melody really help to make this one a strong opener - some cool orchestration is also present on the chorus. “And Scream” is next and continues in the vein of the previous track. The third track, “Warriors” quickly became a favorite- and the band earned high marks for their little tribute to the great movie of the same name at the end of the song (fans of the movie, “The Warriors” will know what I’m talking about). “Soul Saliva”, features one interesting cover, The Lovecrave have decided to cover the Michael Jackson track, “Thriller”. It is totally done in The Lovecrave’s own style, and although I approached this one with caution, the band quickly won me over with their take on the track, this is indeed another highlight, albeit a surprising one. “Your Fire”, the ballad “Leon’s Lullaby” and “TruBlood” are more songs that come highly recommended. “Soul Saliva” is a pretty good second outing from The Lovecrave. The songs and the musical direction help to make “Soul Saliva” a pretty intriguing and entertaining listen.
Rating - 83/100
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