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The translation of my reviewMy review of new Judas Priest album.
Métal Intégral - Chronique / JUDAS PRIEST - Invincible shield
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A masterful work which is a turning point in the group's career !!!
March 8, 2024. International Women's Rights Day, but not only that. The sun is shining on Metal Town. The whole town trembles with joy. A highly anticipated event is preparing. An important celebration for the local population. All the inhabitants of this town are busy in their respective tasks. The posters are stuck on the advertising spaces provided for this purpose. The merchandising stands are in place. Delicious aromas emanate from the catering. The party favors and glitter are ready to cover not only blonde heads. The finishing touches are being made to the installation of the stage. Even the church was decorated for the occasion. Six long years the community has been waiting for this moment. More than the Messiah himself. The bishopric has just given the green light for the return of the parish priest. The one who is inspired by Bob DYLAN and gives a hell of a performance when morale is low. The one who goes into flamboyant sermons when he takes stock of the world every Sunday morning with firepower like no other. Today, it has become an invincible shield. A fatal weapon for evil. The painkiller for a Humanity whose morality is declining. He was the angel of punishment, then the redeemer of souls. He forged British steel while inspiring vocations among defenders of the faith. Sin after sin, he experienced the sad wings of destiny. To drive the point home, he embarked on a business of demolishing the mystery surrounding Nostradamus by being a particularly tenacious regulator of any entry point to hermeticism. He was punished for rebelling against the established order. Which prompted him to cry for revenge and come back stronger a week exactly before the Ides of March. And he put the turbo on it. It's going to rocka roller in the cottages, dediou. However, it was not an easy thing with this damn particularly crowning pandemic which postponed his tour plans, as well as the heart attack of one of his guitarists. Fortunately, not by much. Indeed, he had a hollow nose to record his orchestrated speeches at the beginning of 2020. Yes, JUDAS PRIEST is back, adorned in beautiful liturgical vestments.
This, to the delight of metalheads who were worried about not having any news from Rob HALFORD and company. It is true that in the 80’s, the combo’s cruising rhythm was more regular, i.e. an album every one to two years. From the 90's onwards, things got complicated with the arrival of grunge and alternative rock which ruined all the work of the old hands of NWOHBM and the like. This was concretely the case with IRON MAIDEN who had great difficulty keeping their heads above water. Same for SAXON. Even more so for JUDAS PRIEST who, after a monumental Painkiller, THE centerpiece in the English discography, wallowed nicely with two big commercial failures, Jugulator and Demolition. The reason is very simple. The replacement of the Metal God by one of his biggest fans, Tim Ripper Owens. Seven springs separate Painkiller from Jugulator. Which is not surprising, given that Glenn TIPTON, KK DOWNING, Ian HILL and Scott TRAVIS had difficulty recovering from the departure of their legendary vocalist at the time. In 2004, after some experimentation within FIGHT, TWO and his solo group, He Qui Pousse La Chansonnette returned home and, with the other members, put together the comeback album, the powerful Angel Of Retribution. Exit Chris TSANGARIDES, Sean LYNCH and John ASTLEY on production, it was Roy Z who stuck to the controls, buoyed by the success of Resurrection, the return to traditional metal of the HALFORD squad. Three brooms later, Nostradamus pointed the tip of his crystal ball. Mixed success for this massive conceptual double-CD with nevertheless remarkable qualities. A few line-up changes later, KK DOWNING was replaced hands down by Richie FAULKNER, then scratcher for DEEDS, Lauren HARRIS and VOODOO SIX. JUDAS PRIEST then circulated quite a bit to familiarize its audience with the newbie and immortalize its presence on the Epitaph DVD. With a hard rock and blues background, the young musician composed with Glenn TIPTON. The result was not long in coming. In 2014, it was the classic Redeemer Of Souls which came out of the Priestian forges. Although the thirteen tracks are excellent in themselves, the mixing and mastering lack logic on the one hand and punch on the other. It is live that the songs will really gain momentum. Battle Cry is here to testify to this. The club of five was not in the habit of resting on its laurels, so he quickly began working on new cantatas again. And, on March 9, 2018, Firepower uttered its first wails through an eponymous song that shatters the eardrums like never before. Illustrated by an old-style cover by Claudio BERGAMIN, which is not without recalling those of Screaming For Vengeance, Defenders Of The Faith and Turbo, works by Doug JOHNSON, with these running lines which evoke movement, Firepower is extremely effective, in particular thanks to Andy SNEAP (HELL, SABBAT), whose knows all the talent of a sound engineer. However, Richie FAULKNER and Glenn TIPTON are the architects of the JUDAS PRIEST sound of the 21st century. Eager not to cling to their glorious past, without denying it, the minstrels then allow themselves all possible freedoms to create something new while retaining the basics. This is how Firepower gives way to innovative refrains that leave baba. Now playing on atmospheres more than on speed and aggression, JUDAS PRIEST gives us masterpieces like Children Of The Sun, Necromancer, Specter or Rising From Ruins. Even if there are still nuclear missiles like Firepower, Lightning Strike, Evil Never Dies or Flamethrower to blow up in our faces.
As these lines are written, Invincible Shield is taking over in this musical long-distance race. Does he have all the assets to be a serious challenger to all his predecessors? It depends on whether you are fans of the status quo, clinging to the glory days of JUDAS PRIEST or, conversely, fans of change who appreciate evolution because it contributes to the general improvement of the group's talents. . Indeed, Invincible Shield is, like Bruce DICKINSON's The Mandrake Project, a record which certainly does not leave one indifferent, but as everyone has varied expectations, it risks being relatively factional. Artistically, this nineteenth ritual offering is a success from start to finish. Technically, all musicians are maestros. Richie FAULKNER and Rob HALFORD shine infinitely. They are the real stars with their respective interpretations on this supercharged Invincible Shield, even if Glenn TITPTON, whose contribution is beyond doubt on some of the pont-neufs, Ian HILL and Scott TRAVIS are no less notably present.
Most of you have already heard the first four singles, namely: the hybrid Panic Attack, a sort of sonic bridge between Turbo Lover and Painkiller, which stands out with its synthwave intro which quickly gives way to a well-honed piece of music. the Flame Thrower, Rob HALFORD being particularly comfortable and in good shape on his vocal lines and the group very cohesive on this criticism of the excesses of the Internet and its ordinary users, mainly from the extreme right, who want to have the put their hand on it in order to distill their hatred of others and their differences, the jerky mid-tempo Trial By Fire which flirts with the first seconds of Judas Is Rising and the structure of Rising From Ruins, the “power ballad” Crown Of Horns which is, from a certain point of view, the counterpart of No Surrender, as well as the edgy The Serpent And The King which, thematically, plays in the same category as SAXON's Hell, Fire And Damnation, but with an Evil Never side Dies pronounced riding the Jawbreaker wave. The rest of the songs are just as enjoyable, even orgasmic, as this album is a pure marvel. It is, in fact, not surprising to see it rise to first place in the charts in the four corners of the globe.
Invincible Shield, in its beginnings, is a nod to Scott TRAVIS' drum break on Hell Patrol, because the two titles are strangely similar in this detail, except that they do not continue in the same way, Invincible Shield is more in a fully assumed 80's vein with some furtive forays into the 70's, which makes this cantata very attractive. Musically, this eponymous aria is quite close to Hellrider and its elder All Guns Blazing. For the rest, we find hints of Exciter and Invader, sometimes sprinkled with Beyond The Realms Of Death at the level of the six-string solos. While Devil In Disguise is a mid-tempo cousin of Traitor’s Gate and Lone Wolf, which quickly slips into pure Necromancer. This fourth title is anchored in the JUDAS PRIEST of the 2000s. Which is the case of Gates Of Hell, even if a sensation of Come And Get It is felt in the intro riff. That said, this fifth track remains quite surprising from JUDAS PRIEST, since it does not quite sound like JUDAS PRIEST. More precisely, it does not necessarily stick to the group's past, but rather opens the doors to the future. Richie's solo is reminiscent of what Adrian SMITH does on many IRON MAIDEN songs, as do the guitar harmonies which are quite reminiscent of what the Iron Maiden did on Somewhere In Time. Scott TRAVIS and Ian HILL hop like goats on relatively thrashy rhythms, while Rob HALFORD wisely stays in a medium register which suits him better. Then comes the steamroller As God Is My Witness with its omnipresence of double-pedal and which borrows as much from Leather Rebel as from One Shot At Glory, the climax of the song being this solo from Richie and this tapping so representative of the combo in the style of Ram It Down. The company has given us one of its best pieces of the last thirty years.
The last trio of the light version of Invincible Shield then arrives and the quintet begins hostilities with the UFO Escape From Reality whose doomesque approach is obvious. It's a block of unusual heaviness from JUDAS PRIEST who, once in a while, asks BLACK SABBATH about Rob's voice, mimicking that of Ozzy OSBOURNE on the bridge before the solos, as well as CANDLEMASS for the power of the riffs and the rhythmic syncopations and SOUNDGARDEN for this nod to Black Hole Sun from 2min22, which gives a psychedelic side ideally fitting into the concept of this original refrain. Sons Of Thunder is an explosive bomb of too short duration which suddenly falls on us while bringing back memories of Hell Bent For Leather, Breaking The Law, Screaming For Vengeance or Deal With The Devil to the surface and which gives an indication of the content of the tenth and penultimate title of the 19th opus of JUDAS PRIEST. As an epilogue, we are treated to the epic Giants In The Sky, very bluesy with its Crossfire and Children Of The Sun accents, from which it partially takes up the melody. It's a majestic song, especially with this acoustic solo in a passage of Olympian calm like Sea Of Red, Angel or Beginning Of The End, which pays tribute to Ronnie James DIO and Lemmy KILMISTER, who died too young in 2010 and 2015 , at the respective ages of 67 and 70 years.
To make the pleasure last longer (like the famous Frenchie brand of condoms), the five did not forget to add three bonus tracks to the Deluxe version of Invincible Shield, namely the rock'n'roll Fight Of Your Life which should really have appeared on the album given its high quality, mix of Dragonaut and Rock Hard, Ride Free, the muscular Vicious Circle, mirror of Hellrider, Evil Never Dies and Rising From Ruins, and the bizarre and quite unpleasant The Lodger , written by Bob HALLIGAN JR., the author of Some Heads Are Gonna Roll and (Take These) Chains, barcarolles more typical and more worthy of JUDAS PRIEST than The Lodger which ultimately remains the black point of the long version of Invincible Shield, something totally dispensable.
Ultimately, apart from this microscopic error at the end, Invincible Shield is a fucking killing spree that jumps down our throats like a lioness on its prey. Three-fifths of the musicians may have reached retirement age a long time ago, but the fact remains that they are in great shape, with the exception of Glenn TIPTON who, unfortunately, contracted this nasty Parkinson's disease. From a writing point of view, however, he remains a monster of precision in his guitar parts and efficiency in his compositions as evidenced by the shells Sons Of Thunder, Escape From Reality and Vicious Circle. His disability in no way prevents him from having excellent ideas that bear fruit. Special mention to Richie FAULKNER who, since his arrival in the ranks of the British heavy mercenaries in 2011, has revived the quintet while making it evolve, constantly taking it out of its comfort zone. Enough to rekindle the flame of the group which, since the operatic Nostradamus and the hieratic Redeemer Of Souls, has continued to grow and assert itself even more vigorously than during its glorious past, resolutely determined to prove to all the heretics who no longer believe in the existence of rock that they are so wrong. Because metal is still standing, its heart beating passionately. JUDAS PRIEST is the ringing confirmation of this. Rob HALFORD shouts like a god, Scott TRAVIS hits his drums as if his life depended on it, Richie FAULKNER remains vibrant with vivacity, Glenn TIPTON goes beyond himself considerably to show that he is an eminent member of the orchestra and, equal to himself, Ian HILL, although embodying quiet strength, remains a rhythmic war machine. All these elements assembled make JUDAS PRIEST a lively torrent which deconstructs the prejudices that ordinary mortals may have in the face of the agony of amplified music, which is only a mirage, and whose main mission remains the dismantling of heads, the breaking of the jawbones and the crushing of the impious. With the redeemer of souls taking a sabbatical and the flamboyant return of the angel of punishment, those who still doubt the happy days to come of heavy metal with baked beans sauce should be forgotten. Since JUDAS PRIEST makes a triumphant comeback thanks to this nineteenth opus, even more than with Firepower which, in a certain way, was only a first draft of Invincible Shield, a draft already very well taken care of, but which sometimes lacked finesse. Now, thanks to the seriousness of the combo and Andy SNEAP's appetite for mixing consoles and recording techniques, we are finally rewarded for our support with a colorful album that avoids bouts of nostalgia without however, we omit the great moments of the story of Priest Judas. The Sentinel keeps watch. But the hardened steel company is not ready to play KISS or AEROSMITH. Rob HALFORD and his friends have long looked to the future without denying their past. Hence this balanced Invincible Shield which never wavers one iota. Three tracks successfully passed the stage test at the end of March and beginning of April, with fans turning out in huge numbers. After an induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame at the end of 2023, Invincible Shield should drive home JUDAS PRIEST's popularity well beyond the borders of metal. This is not a theory, but a fact. Several Western general media took up the subject while praising the band to the preaching apostle. JUDAS PRIEST is therefore at the height of its success, more than it was previously, including thanks to Painkiller. Invincible Shield is a turning point in the careers of the five companions because it carries within it the complete legacy of 50 years of hard work and a host of sacrifices that the clan had to make to succeed in conquering the throne that was theirs. finally had to. It is a shield against the ambient gloom of our times which, if not making us invincible in the face of adversity, at least makes us impervious to the negative energies released by our human peers who are not part of our large and joyful family. This is why it is imperative to have this masterful work in your discotheque, especially since, even if Rob HALFORD confided in an interview that he does not foresee an end to this magnificent adventure that is JUDAS PRIEST, we do not know what the future can bring us, unless, obviously, there is a John of Jerusalem or a Baba Vanga among us, or even an oracle of Delphi. So, let’s enjoy the present moment and this extraordinary gift that has been given to us.
An album with a versatile face destined to become a future classic of the band.
A few months ago, the Brazilians of ANGRA returned from their long hibernation of five earth revolutions. This is the most excessive radio silence on the part of South Americans. But there are good reasons for this. In addition to the Covid which showed the end of its Spike protein in 2020 and the departure of Kiko LOUREIRO for MEGADETH in 2016, it is truly the death of Andre MATOS, the legendary voice of the group, on June 8, 2019 at the age 47 years old, who stopped all the activity of the combo, shocked by this disappearance as sudden as it was tragic. All the more dramatic since a reunion of the quintet would undoubtedly occur shortly after the main protagonists, Andre MATOS, Rafael BITTENCOURT and Kiko LOUREIRO, who had not spoken since the split of the Goddess of Fire in 2000 for purely technical and contractual reasons (management problems and musical differences), had either met again around a coffee or called, Dédé even having had ideas for compositions for a possible “grand comeback” album. This death was a real shock for all the people who participated in the quintet in any way since its creation in 1991, for the metal community as a whole, and even, surprisingly, for Brazil as a whole. Hence the establishment of a special metal day in his memory. SHAMAN, the gifted singer's main project, then a priori no longer had any future, just like the vocalist's solo group, which had fallen "to oblivion". ANGRA, for his part, had a lot of trouble swallowing the pill and getting back to work. The work of mourning helping and resilience doing its work, Rafael BITTENCOURT took his courage in both hands and forced himself to write new pieces surrounded by his acolytes, the guitarist Marcelo BARBOS, the bassist Felipe ANDREOLI, the drummer Bruno VALVERDE and the rhapsode Fabio LIONE, a team already involved since the revival of the album in 2014, the excellent Secret Garden.
The various confinements not stopping the crazy adventure, the minstrels got down to the task by videoconference, exchanging ideas by e-mail and sometimes jamming on Skype, just to make up for lost time and reconnect with the 'want to want to play music again. When the health precautionary period finally ended, the club of five was able to meet again in the flesh. Here again, melodies and riffs were proposed by everyone. Imagined concepts. Written words. Recorded demos. Rehearsals done. This before entering the studio and packaging what will be the 10th ANGRA puck to celebrate, in a special way, the thirtieth anniversary of Angels Cry, the founding album of a new genre announcing the emergence of what would become symphonic metal in the 90s.
After various themes addressed throughout the first nine LPs, such as 16th century Brazil (Holy Land), rebirth (Rebirth), the Templars (Temple Of Shadows), psychiatric pathologies (Aurora Consurgens) or the power of "the 'Love in all its forms' (Secret Garden), today it is the turn of suffering and its multiple expressions and origins to be evoked through the twelve titles of this very good Cycles Of Pain.
Adorned with an enigmatic cover, representing a sort of monstrous angel, that of Death, adorned with ostentatious religious or pagan signs, it wanders through an Amazonian forest prey to flames. A metaphor for 21st century Brazil where meat farmers massively destroy indigenous territories for gold and the cultivation of GMO soy intended for Western livestock. This illustration immediately sets the mood for this tenth offering generated in Gehenna. This is the work of Erick PASQUA, a talented young graphic designer. Given the apocalyptic events of the last three decades, starting with the destruction of the World Trade Center, but also by the barbaric acts committed at the Bataclan, the war in Ukraine, as well as the murder of individual freedoms by religious people of all sides, including the implementation of anti-democratic laws under the reign of Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian "president", patented ball licker of Trump and Putin, it is not surprising to see our dear instrumentalists exorcise all these frustrations at the 'help from this dozen emotional tracks.
And it is after a short instrumental intro, Cyclus Doloris, that the group gets to the heart of the matter with a particularly heavy and dark title, Ride Into The Storm, where Fabio shouts and the other members of the combo move around in a ballet of tortuous notes. Nothing surprising when we know that this song seriously evokes Dédé MATOS and his chaotic life during which he faced his own demons. Hence its childish representation in the eponymous clip, in which a rather disturbing atmosphere reigns. Musically, this ritornello, lasting six minutes and dust, rides a lot on what ANGRA did on Aurora Consurgens, that is to say very progressive and convoluted music a la The Course Of Nature and Ego Painted Grey. Fabio LIONE's vocal timbre has never sounded so close to that of Edu falaschi at the same period. The big riffs are still there and the characteristic melodies of the Brazilian clan lull our ears, like Spread Your Wings with a very soft passage pumped on that of Winds Of Destination. This first draft gives a monumental insight, although the subject addressed is of rare darkness. Darkening which will be confirmed on almost all of Cycles Of Pain. Because, like Bruce DICKINSON's new album, there is a certain feeling of inevitability that hangs over this tenth album from the South American squad. But, unlike The Mandrake Project, which only gives pride of place to the first five stages of the mourning process on Sonata (Immortal Beloved), Cycles Of Pain still presents itself with a more positive image by incorporating the last two stages of this same process of mourning, namely acceptance and reconstruction, notably through the semi-ballad Vida Seca and its luminous aura, brought by the participation of the variety singer LENINE, the jumping percussions of Guga MACHADO (which will be also featured on Cycles Of Pain, Faithless Sanctuary and Here In The Now) and the orchestrations of Antonio TEOLI as well as those of Ronaldo DE OLIVEIRA, but even more so on Generation Warriors where the atmosphere is more festive despite, again, a contemporary theme of the imprisonment of minds by technology. This is a more joyful and aggressive song than usual and which could very well appear on a JUDAS PRIEST or PRIMAL FEAR album (a little nod to the wild team-up of Ralf SCHEEPERS and Mat SINNER by the way with a little verse innocuous or not, it's up to you, at the end of the first verse: Primal fear has been reset). What is most striking here is that this title exudes joy of life and determination. The solos of Rafael BITTENCOURT and Marcelo BARBOSA give shivers because their execution is so impeccable. Felipe ANDREOLI and Bruno VALVERDE are literally having a blast. We can constantly feel joy and combativeness in the face of adversity. While Dead Man On Display is in a thrashy mood with a big hint of prog in the last third, the two Tide Of Changes are calmer and more serene, embracing change as a necessity of existence, in a way an evolution by Waiting Silence and Sprouts Of Time.
Gods Of The World is the big block of Cycles Of Pain, a cavatina which denounces the feeling of impunity of the elites who fart higher than their asses by assuming the right, like crooked puppeteers, to dispose of the lives of small -people as many as they want. It may only last four minutes, but this antiphon alone sums up the entire career of the Divinity of Flames since Rebirth. From Fabio LIONE's starting cry, the despair of all humanity is expressed. Gods Of The World is ANGRA’s 2 Minutes To Midnight. Not that it is so solemn or inward, but it stays in your head, especially the repetitive chorus. As in the past, we find ourselves before a bouncy song with enterprising keyboards which denote the desire of the instrumentalists to cling to modernity. Gods Of The World is, de facto, of a cheerful nature, despite the subject matter, driven by a growing hope in the revolt of people against tyrants. While Cycles Of Pain becomes darker, more rebellious in its lyrics, more daring in its interpretation by Fabio Lione, while the group takes a slightly step back, on a ballad of absolute sublime which could have been a duplicate of No Pain For The Dead with its melancholy appearance and its captivating vocal surges. This is the most beautiful piece of Cycles Of Pain, not necessarily the most interesting. Since Faithless Sanctuary is the one that surpasses everything the combo has been able to do more technically until now, given the ethnic rhythms which completely overflow on this very progressive track of pure madness. There is not a single moment when Rafael BITTENCOURT and his acolytes do not change tempo or melody. It’s an extremely massive song that starts with Arabic phrasing and ends with a phrase more common to ANGRA. Faithless Sanctuary would have had its place on Aurora Consurgens as the schizophrenic musical aspect is developed to a level never before explored by the cheerful guys. However, the minstrels are more airy on Here In The Now thanks to the second participation of Vanessa MORENO on this rather perky round, because nothing beats the present moment, a point in space-time where we detach ourselves of the past and where we do not worry about the future, given that what was is no more and what will be is not yet written. Hence the infinity of possibilities, provided you make the right choices at that moment. However, everything is ephemeral, especially existence. And that’s why ANGRA reminds us of this with the operatic and emphatic Tears Of Blood. We must not forget that we have an expiration date and that one day our loved ones or ourselves will shed tears of blood while suffering internally from our loss or that of a loved one. But, the duo Amanda SOMMERVILLE – Fabio LIONE is magnificent and majestic, their voices blending perfectly, like those of Edu FALASCHI and Sabine EDELSBACHER on No Pain For The Dead. Moreover, the two requiems end in a similar way with a sudden slowdown, one with a piano the other with an acoustic guitar.
In the end, Cycles Of Pain leads us not to question the content of our existence, but rather to let ourselves be carried by the waves of destiny, regardless of whether they are tumultuous or peaceful, while choosing judiciously what we we desire to make the time allotted to us on Earth. We can, of course, deny all the trials that litter our path, reject all emotions and build a mortuary shell that will ultimately crumble on its own, or welcome all the upheavals that present themselves. suddenly towards us with open arms and integrating all the good or bad sensations that pass through us then, which makes us profoundly human and alive. Because life is just that: a succession of more or less bearable pains, interspersed with fleeting joys. A natural selection that allows us to evolve, grow and develop resilience and mutual aid. To acquire wisdom and become spiritual beings. It is true that from time to time we can feel anger, frustration and helplessness in the face of sudden disappearances, like that experienced by ANGRA upon the announcement of the death of André MATOS, its former vocalist, or that of the tribes indigenous people facing the loss of their territories and traditions. It’s normal and it does a lot of good for the heart and soul to express them through sonic art or any kind of struggle. However, these feelings often prevent the grieving process from happening. This induces resentment which can, sometimes, lead people to hatred of others who are believed to be responsible for the event that occurs, or even to the denial of God, who is no more guilty of what arrived. Hence the fall into the abyss of many people who rot their souls, even though acceptance and inner strength could have taken them higher and made them more learned. Letting yourself fall and remaining in denial seems easier than fighting the despair inside yourself and shining your own light. However, ANGRA successfully led this war to avoid sinking into darkness, exorcising erethism and atrabile through music and words. Refusing to fall into lypemania and animadversion. Just like the majority of people in mourning or despair and who realize that, despite the darkness that they initially see, they still have reasons to believe and to survive, causes to struggle for or passions that remain intact. Cycles Of Pain is a symphony very far from being fatalistic. This album is a true hymn to joy. Because it is in the darkness that the light is revealed. Darkness is only a developer of the spark that is in us all. ANGRA has this original blaze which, although having weakened in 2019 and 2020, has never completely disappeared, having even amplified in 2021, when the five thieves got back to work. Alternating explosions of joy and meditative passages, Cycles Of Pain is the testimony of a group of friends who were deeply touched by the death of one of its most emblematic personalities and a long period of questioning which followed. followed, as well as by news events taking place all around the globe. Which makes it a very personal and very intense record, in which each of us can find ourselves. By thanking everyone who participated in the construction of this opus, which includes the guests listed below, the technical teams as well as the troubadours themselves, it is clear that Cycles Of Pain reflects the best of ANGRA . Less sluggish than OMNI, more passionate than Secret Garden, this latest record from the Brazilian factory has enormous vigor and assets to seduce us while preserving the heritage of the Parèdre de l'Ignescence. Cycle Of Pain is, due to its versatile face, destined to become a future classic of the group, in the same way as Holy Land or Temple Of Shadows, of which it is the current counterpart. A very nice tribute to Dédé as well as to all the individuals who struggle and resist against winds and tides.
A first opus all fired up !!!
A new vintage, its own fresh flesh. And this time, it's once again the mischievous Chris BOLTENDAHL, tireless singer and leader of the group of Germanic gravediggers GRAVE DIGGER, who is at it with a third project with the sweet surname of STEELHAMMER to which he added his name so as not to duplicate with the other eponymous combo. It is with great pleasure that the month of July 2023 saw the great vocalist and his friends give birth to a first full-throttle opus, the excellent Reborn In Flames.
Like persevering phoenixes, the native of Gladbeck and his band of virtuosos with fairy fingers and wands have graced us with an album not full of verses which looks towards more traditional horizons than on HELLRYDER and the groovy The Devil Is A Gambler. Exit the funky or hard rock elements, welcome to heavy metal occasionally tinged with power.
The first thing we see is the magnificent cover by Uwe JARLING representing a flamboyant winged creature which, like the female angels on the artwork of Soul Temptation and Firesoul by BRAINSTORM, seems to have an immediate hold on our gaze. , but also on the city that it destroys with the back of its hand, thus sweeping away Humanity as nimbly as a tsunami would have done previously in a Japanese city, of which it is not necessary to cite the titled, since a double nuclear explosion followed a few hours later, it is already almost twelve springs. Very explicitly, this sketch describes the incandescent archangel who came to destroy homo-sapiens and its various civilizations, a decorum that we find in the titles Fire Angel and Out Of The Ruins. The one whose name we don't mention, but which must certainly come to mind right now.
In addition to this graphic impression which stands out at first glance, the quartet pulled out all the stops, including on the sonic level. Result, a masterful album, very homogeneous stylistically and overall more artistic than HELLRYDER's debut opus. From the introduction of Reborn In Flames, we clearly see that the group is not kidding. He wants to impress. As GRAVE DIGGER usually does. The track tumbles into a bass-drums-guitar trio with a very simple riff and a mid-tempo double-pedal rhythm that gradually increases in speed. After a minute of instrumental passage, the song really launches itself not in pursuit of the green diamond, but of our attention, in the manner of The Hangman’s Eye by GRAVE DIGGER. Moreover, this song is structurally very close to what the undertakers did on The Return Of The Reaper and Healed By Metal. Guitarist flights and solemn choirs are an integral part of this shimmering patchwork. The vocal lines are typical of Chris BOLTENDAHL's work at GRAVE DIGGER. What is less so is the epilogue of this jumping minuet which you will be able to see for yourself if you acquire this well-burned heavy power metal gem.
Each of the titles is of the same ilk. Precision and speed are the key words that characterize this washer, certainly not innovative for a cashew, but terribly attractive in many respects. Fire Angel, too, is eyeing GRAVE DIGGER's The Hangman's Eye, particularly on the lyrics, rhymes and diction. Melodically, it moves away a bit, but still has this something similar on the bridge which is not necessarily very identifiable. However, with its repetitive chorus, it manages to stand out from its predecessor thanks to the varied playing of Tobias KERSTING, very different from that of Axel RITT, in the way it sounds. Lighter in his interpretation, he manages to convey more emotions. Notwithstanding Axel who remains a talented sleeve jerker, by the way. But, Tobias does much better with this type of demonstration. This is not surprising, since the guy operates in a less clumsy sector than traditional heavy: power metal with his group ORDEN OGAN. Obviously, power also means virtuosity. Not that in heavy music the musicians are less gifted (see the trio Adrian SMITH – Dave MURRAY – Janick GERS, who are true geniuses of the six-string), but the guitar serves more as support for the rhythm section than in the power where she is the main attraction. Here we have a hybridization of the two. The work of Lars SCHNEIDER and Patrik KLOSE is astonishingly masterful. It’s Calais lace applied at the Ruhr foundry.
However, it is with the “non-singles” that we manage to form a firm idea about the content of this supercharged Reborn In Flames. Beyond The Black Souls and Gods Of Steel stand out a bit, the first recalls Blade Of The Immortal while the second, surprisingly thrashy at heart, is a clever marriage between METALLICA (Wherever I May Roam), GRAVE DIGGER (The Clans Will Rise Again) and SCORPIONS (Bad Boys Running Wild). However, the band quickly returns to something more classic with Die For Your Sins which flirts with Desert Rose and Grave In The No Man's Land, notably because of the melodic passage on the chorus and the way of introducing it, while Let The Evil Rise focuses rather on aggression and darkness with guitars tuned very low, except in the solos which appear relatively bright, which really contrasts with the heaviness of the title itself, which remains a very efficient medium. which would not have been out of place on the Killhammer from MYSTIC PROPHECY, for example. Let The Evil Rise is very close to GRAVE DIGGER's The Last Crusade, or even Blade Of The Immortal. Out Of The Ruins has a discreet Arabic aura, present in the background, which colors the song with a pleasant oriental veil, although the subject matter is not so focused on the dunes of the Sahara or the fortress of Masada. Here again, STEELHAMMER hits the mark with this epic refrain which proves to be the moment of bravery on this entertaining and diverse Reborn In Flames. The impression of listening to Clash Of The Gods is quite strong, although this piece is less folkloric.
I Am Metal begins the final trio brilliantly, thanks to what can be compared to blast-beats between the chorus and the verses, while not forgetting to play on versatility, presenting a reduced panel of facets of our favorite genre, navigating between slightly pumped parts on KREATOR, obvious heavy overtones and very short but remarkable guttural vocals from Chris BOLTENDAHL on the vocal bridge just before Tobias KERSTING's solo. The Hammer That Kills launches on a bass from Lars SCHNEIDER which would have found its place on a SKID ROW album before sinking into something more sluggish at the crossroads of traditional heavy and hard rock with, again, a Chris BOLTENDAHL who has fun warbling in a beginner's grunt version towards the end of this penultimate track. Red lantern of Reborn In Flames, Iron Christ highlights the talent of the musicians with a lively pace which returns to the groove of GRAVE DIGGER with characteristic gimmicks which, however, temporarily moves away from it, particularly in the second third. To top it all off, the infernal squad has fun covering Beds Are Burning by MIDNIGHT OIL in their own way, one of the most popular hits of the 80s, which takes us back several decades. Name of mashed potatoes, this small deviation does not rejuvenate us, on the contrary, it transforms us into paprika-flavored chips with our cracking joints. The EHPAD and the walker are not far away.
Reborn In Flames is absolutely not a masterpiece in its strict sense. In absolute terms, this very nice puck has no reason to exist except for and for fun. Musically, the quartet controls its subject, even if the compositions are sometimes only rehashes of ideas used in the main combo of maestro Chris BOLTENDAHL. After all, it’s his band since it bears his last name. And whatever happens, there is no smoke without fire, it is therefore normal to end up with elements from GRAVE DIGGER, starting with these very massive riffs and these vocal lines typical of the 'Buyer. STEEMHAMMER is for the minnesinger, like HELLRYDER or THE FYREDOGS, a way to keep busy between two offspring of GRAVE DIGGER alongside his friends from ORDEN OGAN and IRON SAVIOR. Moreover, GRAVE DIGGER recently released Grave Is Yours on the market, a promising first single which bodes only the best for its 22nd opus to come somewhere around the last quarter of 2024. Reborn In Flames is pleasant entertainment which will have found or will undoubtedly find its audience among the fans and beyond the Funeral Homes. Cheeky without overdoing it, melodic without being tender-footed, ardent without becoming incendiary, this beginning is a joyous farandole which adorns the dull moments of existence with a timid petulance which, unfortunately, never goes beyond the stage of 'blast. We are waiting for an effort from Chris BOLTENDAHL and his men on a possible second achievement which, we hope and keep our fingers firmly crossed for this, will be much more daring and practical. Reborn In Flame remains, nevertheless, a very honorable work which will not leave you indifferent and which will provide you with a suitable ration of delight for your music-loving fools.