Metal Blade Strikes Gold Again With Brit Rockers’ New Album

COurtesy: Metal blade Records/Rise Above Records

We are currently living in the twenty-first century.  But don’t tell that to the British hard rock band Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell.  This British three-piece takes listeners back to the days of Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, and so many others from rock’s Golden Era.  From the opening moments of Mark of The beast, audiences know that there is something special about this band. 

What’s really intriguing about “Don’t Hear It, Fear It” is that while the songs on this album do have some lyrical content, it’s obvious that much more emphasis was placed on the music.  There is nothing wrong at all with this.  The emphasis on the album’s musical side is what makes the music that enjoyable for listeners.  The album’s opener, ‘Mark of The Beast’ is solid proof of that.  Drummer Bill Darlington’s playing on this song is right up there with Bonzo himself, the great John Bonham.  He echoes Bonham’s playing both stylistically and sound-wise thanks to the work of producer and mixer Drew Mudd and Chris Fielding along with Ed Turner.  Even vocalist/guitarist Johnny Gorilla seems to channel Tommy Iommi and Jimmy Page all at the same time.  The two together, along with vocalist Louis Wiggett’s vocals make this a solid opener for this album.

The band channels other classic rock stylings on ‘iDeath.’  This is another excellently rounded hard rock song that any true purist metal head will love.  Again, vocalist/guitarist Johnny Gorilla and drummer Bill Darlington take center stage with their talents on this semi-Motorhead style song.  The slower, sludge rock vibe from the song is a drastic change from so many of today’s hard rock acts with their down tuned crunching guitars and cookie monster style growls.  It’s only one more highlight that’s offered throughout the course of this almost hour long record.  Yes, it’s a short record.  But it’s a good record.  In a time when so much modern metal is dominating playlists everywhere, this is a record that has turned out to be another surprise success and another hit from Metal Blade Records in 2012 along with the likes of Horisont and Gypsyhawk.

“Don’t Hear It, Fear It” is available now in stores and online.  It can be ordered direct via Metal Blade’s website at http://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/band/admiral-sir-cloudesley-shovell.

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Metal Blade hits a bulls eye with Gentleman’s Pistols debut re-issue

Courtesy: Metal Blade Records/Rise Above Records

Metal Blade records has been known in the music community as the leader in metal for three decades.  But in recent years, the label has started to branch out, including more mainstream acts the likes of King’s X, Horisont, and others.  Now, Metal Blade has hit the bull’s eye yet again with the re-issue of Brit rockers Gentleman’s Pistols debut self-titled record.

The inclusion of Gentleman’s Pistols to the label’s roster is yet more proof of what makes Metal Blade still the leader in the hard rock and metal community.  GP’s debut record is one of those no nonsense, straight forward, balls-to-the-walls hard rock records that will leave listeners breathless by the time it ends.  Of the album’s ten tracks, only a few break the three minute mark.  One of those few songs is the bluesy ‘Heavy Petting.’  Singer/guitarist James Atkinson sings on this song, “Heavy Petting in the park/Heavy petting in the zoo/Heavy petting in the dark/Heavy petting with you/Cause you’re my woman/yes you are.”  It’s pretty obvious what he’s singing about here.  The Black Sabbath-esque bass in this song makes it something really amazing to hear.

‘Heavy Petting’ is one of very few slower songs on the band’s self-titled debut.  Fans of the band’s more up-tempo, adrenaline drenched songs get plenty of that in the Clutch-esque opener ‘Just a Fraction’, ‘Widow Maker’, and ‘Lying & Fooling.’  There’s even a touch of old school punk rock in ‘Vivid Wonder’ and ‘Out of The Eye.’  ‘Mistress Mistrust’ stands out on its own merits, too with its neo-classic rock (contradiction in terms there, huh?) vibe. 

Gentleman’s Pistols now have two records on the market.  The band’s second album bears some similarity to its self-titled debut.  And while it’s just as good as the band’s debut, fans can only say thank you to Metal Blade Records for re-issuing this record.  Very rarely does a band have such a positive impact on its debut, and follow that up with an equally impressive sophomore effort.  The short and simple of this re-issue is that for fans who have never heard the work of Gentleman’s Pistols, this record is a flat ten on a scale of one to ten.  In an era when so much rock is either dark, moody stuff laced with cookie monster growls, a band such as this is a welcome change of pace.  It goes back to the golden days of rock and roll.  What’s more, it proves even more why Metal Blade Records is the leader in hard rock and metal today.

The band’s album is available now.  It can be bought in stores and online at http://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/band/gentlemans-pistols.  Fans can get the latest news and more from Gentleman’s Pistols online at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gentlemans-Pistols/340601796105, http://www.myspace.com/gentlemanspistols, http://twitter.com/#!/gentspistols and http://gentlemanspistols.com.

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Horisont’s sophomore album a shoe in for one of 2012′s best rock records

Courtesy: Rise Above Records/Metal Blade Records

The members of Swedish based rock band Horisont could not have chosen a better name for their band.  For those who don’t know, Horisont is Swedish for horizon.  So what does that have to do with anything?  Everything.  For every band and act that wants to hit it big, fame is just over the horizon.  It’s in the distance.  But for Horisont, the band has reached the horizon (horisont) line and crossed over to major fame in the rock community. 

The band’s new album, “Second Assault” is arguably one of the year’s best rock records.  There are lots of acts that try to emulate the old school rock/metal sound.  But what Horisont does is more than just emulate that classic rock sound.  Horisont sounds like it came direct from rock’s golden era. The album itself makes the band’s name fitting, as it starts off very quiet as if the band is off on the horizon before launching into ‘Time Warrior.’  This is one that fans of Deep Purple will love.  The band gives listeners just enough time to catch their breaths at the end of ‘Time Warrior’ before going headfirst right back into things with ‘Road to Cairo.’  The softest that the band gets on “Second Assault” is on the seemingly Pink Floyd-esque, ‘Crusaders of Death.’ 

‘On The Run’ is yet another perfectly fitting piece to this band’s musical puzzle.  It’s a straight forward, hard driving piece that will get any true rocker moving.  The band’s dual guitar attack, mixed with the Rob Halford/Ozzy style vocals of frontman Axel make this one of the album’s highest of points.  And who would ever have imagined Fleetwood Mac being mentioned in the same thought as Ozzy and Rob Halford.  But it’s true.  ‘Watch Them Die’ shows a pretty obvious Fleetwood Mac influence throughout.  And the guitar solos in this piece will even conjure thoughts of Jimi Hendrix, with their styling.

The title track from “Second Assault” kicks off the second half of the album just as strongly as ‘Time Warrior’ kicked off the first half.  There’s no denying the Judas Priest influence on on this one, from the vocals to the music as a whole.  Axel even gets the high notes with an ease that would make Rob Halford proud.  He doesn’t lose his vocal footing even once anywhere in the song.  The band barely lets off from there as it segues into ‘Spirit.’  The bluesy/rock fuzz feel of ‘Spirit’ brings to mind so many different influences.

‘Hard Bargain’ especially is an impressive track. It boasts a touch of Jimi Hendrix on the guitars mixed in with the thundering John Bonham-esque drumming from Magnus.  Add it together, and audiences get yet another great musical experience.  Once the band pounds through ‘Hard Bargain’, there’s jsut one more song on the album.  That song is the hard rocking, guitar driven, ‘Thunderflight.’  It’s just as relentless as the rest of the pieces on “Second Assault.”  Once it’s all said and done, and ‘Thunderflight’ ends, audiences are left breathless.  But it’s a good breathless.  From start to finish, this record leaves real rock fans feeling like they haven’t just listened to another album.  Rather, it leaves them feeling like they actually just experienced something special.  It leaves them wanting more, in a good way, like a really good book.  They don’t want it to end, even though they know it has to.  And thankfully, just like a book, audiences can listen to it again and again and relive that experience each and every time.

Rise Above Records made a great choice signing Horisont.  “Second Assault” is proof of that.  Of the ten total songs on the album, there is not one bad song.  All combined, ”Second Assault” makes for an album that stands on its own two feet among the masses of bands whose albums try to emulate perhaps one classic rock band or another.  Horisont has taken the road less traveled, instead, making its own path.  Because of that, the band has put itself in place to be a candidate for the best rock record of 2012.

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Metal Blade to re-issue classic albums from Rise Above Records

Metal Blade Records is pleased to announce that this Summer, it will re-issue a handful of records from Rise Above Records.  The first of the new re-issues is Witchcraft’s “Witchcraft”, “Firewood” and “The Alchemist.”  All three albums are currently expected to hit stores July 17th.

Gentleman’s Pistols will see its self-titled debut record re-issued on July 31st.  It will be joined by Firebird’s “Hot Wings.”  In addition to this current slate of re-issues, Metal Blade also recently released two classic albums from Grand Magus on June 5th.  Those records are “Wolf’s Return” and “Iron Will.”

Current Rise Above band Electric Wizard has released a four-track demo titled, “Satyr IX.”  It has been made available exclusively for the Decibel Magazine Flexi Series.  the demo wil be avaialble in the special “Queens of Noise Women in Metal” issue.  It can be ordered online at http://www.decibelmagazine.com.  Fans can also hear ‘Satyr IX’ online by streaming it at http://www.metalsucks.net. 

Fans can get their copies of the upcoming re-isses online at http://www.metalblade.com/witchcraft, http://www.metalblade.com/gentlemanspistols, and http://www.metalblade.com/firebird.  Audiences can check out all the latest from Metal Blade and Rise Above Records online at http://www.metalblade.com and http://www.rideaboverecords.com. 

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