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REVIEW: Orden Ogan – Ravenhead

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags afm records, german, Germany, metal, orden ogan, ravenhead on January 15, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

People! Orden Ogan is back, three years has passed since their latest release, “To The End” which gained them international success. “More metal, more chorusses, more Orden Ogan” is how vocalist Seeb describes the album and while Seeb is the main contributor to the album, it has had all of the band members involved. Teamwork, if you like.

The album starts off pretty aggressively with the title track, but to my surprise it turned out to be very melodic. I’m going to be honest with you – I was fairly unfamiliar with this band prior to hearing this album, so I excepted it to be a lot heavier than it was. This isn’t anything bad though, as you know, I love power metal more than pretty much anything.

I think the album is pretty good – or perhaps decent. There’s a few tracks that stands out quite a lot for me – the bombastic “F.E.V.E.R” and “Sorrow Is Your Tale” where our ever so loved Joacim Cans happen to guest sing on. Aside them two tracks, I think the album is pretty even. Not bad, not at all, but also… nothing amazing, you know? Nothing new. What I do like a lot with this band, as a band, is the vocals. Seeb has one of the more interesting voice I’ve heard in the genre, which I’d say defines the band a little extra.

Production-wise, however, it’s pretty solid. Mixed by Seeb himself and mastered by Dennis Köhne it’s a polished product that is given to us, the only thing I can remark on would the vocals which I find a tad bit low, but it’s just me.

While this is a good album, it still leaves me wanting just a little bit more, despite it being very promising. It’s like, ALMOST there.

3,5 / 5

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Label: AFM Records

Amazon I EMP Online I CDON

// Sara

REVIEW: Serious Black – As Daylight Breaks

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags afm records, as daylight breaks, metal, reviews, serious black on January 14, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

You may ask me, Sara, what is Serious Black? Well, I’ll tell you. Serious Black is the result of musicians from various successful metal bands coming together as one – but unlike most all-star bands, this is an actual band rather than a project. The idea for the band formed during a backstage talk in Spain during 2013, and after if’s and but’s they got together in the studio in Munich in January 2014 and started working on material, which ran real smooth and already after seven days together they had the foundation of what would become “As Daylight Breaks”.

The album is 11 tracks long and… how do I describe it. Imagine you taking your favorite songs from various different bands, and put them together as on a “Best of” album, and you get this album. Aside this isn’t a best of album by various bands.

We are talking about 11 powerful, melodic and at times EPIC songs. Like, first of all, we have the pretty raw and intense opener that is “I Seek No Other Life” – I can’t help but somehow think of the formation of this band when I hear “The time and place must be now”. The intensity and, how do I say it, seriousness in “Sealing My Fate”, the epicness that is the title track – sweet, serene and later on bombastic power-ballad. And this is only mentioning a few of the amazing songs on this album – if I was to go through each and every song, this would be a very long review.

A song I NEED to bring a little extra attention to though, is “High And Low”. This is the single, but it’s also the best song on the album, for a change. Normally I don’t fall for the singles, but this one… I can’t even. I’m literally sitting here, listening to it right now and swearing over the fact I won’t be seeing them any time soon.

This is a good production – solid material, fantastic production technicality wise and just a damn good start. I don’t know what else to say, but let me just say this: This album is so good, I was pulled over by the cops while driving. Headbanging deluxe!

4.5/5

Label: AFM Records

Amazon I EMP Online I CDON

// Sara

“It takes like pop and rap to keep these labels going because those are the only people that are buying records anymore.”

Posted in Tankar och funderingar, Uncategorized with tags illegal downloading, jim roort, metal, slipknot on December 6, 2014 by Sara Hammerzmith

I have already written about this on my personal Facebook page, but I’m going to bring it up here as well, but more evolved.

The quote in the title is a quote by no other than Jim Root to MorningCall magazine he made recently, and the quote had me stunned for several minutes and then it had me almost burning up.

Since when, SINCE WHEN, do metal heads not buy records?

On the contrary – Metalheads are precisely the people who still buy records. I remember an article from a few years back about a girl opening a recordstore selling metal music with the reason “Metalheads will always buy records”. When I go to Sweden Rock, there’ll be a record tent around every corner. I have yet to see this phenomenon at a mix-festival, because Peace&Love sure as hell did not have it. Why? Probably because the average pop and rap fans are NOT as likely to buy records. I personally have yet to meet a person outside the metal community that is as passionate and and true to their genre. Metalheads are collectors. They won’t batch an eye about getting all your various deluxe and special and collectors edition of your CD’s.

Sure – let’s talk about it quickly. There are plenty of metal heads who download illegally (why?) and there are metal heads who use Spotify more than CD’s for some reason, of course, and there are rap and pop people who are the same as metal heads – but you cannot deny that metal heads are one of a kind when it comes to dedication.

Perhaps what Jim Root meant to say was “Rap and pop are what is sold better commercially”. That, on the other hand is a whole new story. Pop and rap are generally more popular, and thus selling more albums. The problem is rather that he’s comparing his band to artists that are way, WAY ahead of them popularity wise. Lady Gaga has no problems selling out Ericsson Globe, and SlipKnot has yet to sell out Hovet. Metal as a sub genre is STRONG in it’s passion and dedication, but it isn’t as widespread popularity wise.

Another problem I can see with this is Spotify. And not Spotify per se – but how the band uses it. I pre-ordered “The Gray Chapter” in order to get it a little before hand – here in Sweden, the companies always ships the CD’s a bit before releasedate to make sure you have the CD in your hands on the release date, but in 99% of the times, the CD’s comes to you a day or two before the release.

Can you guys imagine my disappointment and resignation when I learn that they have decided to release the entire album almost a week before original releasedate on Spotify. Sigh. So what was the point of me preordering it, when I don’t get it “before” everyone else anyway? And it’s not like they make any money off Spotify, as we’ve started to learn lately.

I assume “The Gray Chapter” didn’t meet the expectations this band had for it in success, but here’s an idea – DO NOT RELEASE THE ALBUM FOR FREE A WEEK BEFORE THE RELEASE DATE AND PERHAPS MORE WILL BUY IT. Or wait all in all.

Sometimes I just get so fed up with some of the members of this band. At times it feels like they are pissing all over their fans. Ruining their phones, making it unsafe for them and now this shit. It feels like they have some inner frustration with each other and now they are taking it out on the fans. Seriously, could someone shoot them off their large horses? What sour stone as Jim Root been living under? Or is this phenomenon Europe exclusive? I don’t know, but I’ll quote Fredrik Strage:

“There are only three things that would survive a nuclear war: bacteria, cockroaches and metal heads“.

// Sara