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A little background on Markus Saastomoinen: he is a Melbourne-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and currently frontman for extremely promising progressive heavy rock outfit Cirrus Crown. This is his debut solo record.

And it’s an interesting ride, with a broad musical palette and good depth of songwriting. Opening with the short, evocative voice and piano piece A Strange Silence, the album proper kicks off in a style you might imagine, coming from a member of an Australian prog rock act, with its longest and most progressive track, Puzzle Piece.

However, if you thought it was going to be another heavily Cog and Karnivool-influenced Aussie prog album, think again. Saastomoinen takes a sharp turn to the left on Clones. Here we get the first taste of something that pervades much of the rest of the album, a strong 60s influence on the songwriting. In fact, Clones sounds like something George Harrison might have done in his post-Beatles career. Lullaby reminds one of The Beatles’ Oh Darling. I can hear The Beatles, The Hollies, The Beach Boys and the like in the melodies and the songcraft in pretty much everything except for the aforementioned Puzzle Piece and the stomping Truth, Lies & in Between. He even brings some very 50s and 60s gospel-esque a-capella to the table on Bring Him Home, which closes proceedings in ear-pleasing and unexpected style.  

The fact that he brought the great man, former Southern Sons guitarist and founding member Peter ‘Reggie’ Bowman, in on production, songwriting and musical inspiration duties only added further aural lustre to this sweet-sounding project.

Puzzle Pieces is a great name for this record, it’s quite an enigmatic puzzle that pieces together to make one rather cohesive and listenable whole. This record is well worth a moment of your time to check out.

Band: Markus Saastomoinen
Album: Puzzle Pieces
Year: 2020
Genre: 60s influenced prog rock
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia

The post Markus Saastamoinen – Puzzle Pieces first appeared on Metal Obsession.

Mt. Joy, a new band from Los Angeles by way of Philly, is firmly based in rock but infuses their riffs with some seriously groovy soul.

Mt. Joy, a new band from Los Angeles by way of Philly, is firmly based in rock but infuses their riffs with some seriously groovy soul.

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We’re not sure whether you’ve noticed, but 2020 hasn’t been the easiest year to negotiate. Yet rather than affecting our resolve one iota, this has only made us more determined than ever to carry on the chronicling the glorious and never-ending continuum of heavy metal through the ages. With that in mind, we’re very happy – at long last – to present another Iron Fist for your delectation. Rest assured there‘s no danger of the rivetheads who run this magazine running out of sounds to raise our pulse and get our dandruff flying, and thus putting this one together has been an almost indecently exciting experience Who better to have on our cover than a legendary band who’ve kept their strange flame alight an entire half century now, through all of manner of trials and travails: Blue Oyster Cult.  We chat to sage wizards Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom in a quest to tackle the band’s enduring charm, their uncanny allure and the fact that against all odds, reason or logic they’ve just making killer records well into their seventies.

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Reflecting the fact that our passions extend across all of that half-century, we have Electric Wizard’s Jus Oborn waxing lyrical on the joys of Atomic Rooster, not to mention meeting up with early ’80s pace-setters like Algy Ward’s Tank and Tokyo Blade. Elsewhere, as always we’re equally thrilled to be digging into heavy metal’s tales of lore and talking to the modern-day bastions marking out its future – there are features to be had here on the Soho denim and leather mecca that was Shades and the proto-kvltist Xeroxed gold of Slayer Zine. Yet we also chat to mighty modern day warriors like Grand Magus, Lizzies, Bat, High Spirits and Wytch Hazel, bringing mayhem and magick anew from diverse inspiration.

We travel back to the mystical realm of the ’80s when some of the most stubborn advocates of the metal faith – mighty arcane forces like Virgin Steele, Manilla Road and Cirith Ungol – were sharpening their steel in the US and toiling largely uncelebrated in the dungeons in a way that would result in formidable cult status decades later, and also chat to Michael Whelan, he whose sleeve art formed part of that elusive mystique. Yet back in the here and now we travel to Canada to deal with a thrilling scene going on right before our very eyes, thanks to the likes of Metalian, Spell, Starlight Ritual and Occult Burial.

To paraphrase the timeless eloquence of Manowar, here at Iron Fist we’ve all got hearts made of metal, and our blood is molten rock – if we don’t hear the sound of metal, we go into shock. No shock tactics to fear here at Iron Fist, as we stubbornly keep the flame alive against all adversity, and would be delighted if you care to join us.

Wow, talk about coining a sub-genre. Or at least getting as close to doing that as you can these days. This Aussie band features members of Annihilist, Orsome Welles and Kettlespider, and have created a sound that can only really be described, or categorised, as ‘instrumental flamenco prog rock’. As left of centre as that sounds.

To further define it, since it may be a little hard to envision for the uninitiated, these guys create lengthy compositions with sprawling arrangements and high-level musicianship almost exclusively with flamenco guitars, bass and drums. And they do it without the aid of formal vocals and lyrics (there are occasional ambient vocals, horns and keys). Commercially, they are treading a very hard path, mining musical terrain like this, but man, do they sound like they having and absolute ball while doing so, and one gets the very strong feeling they don’t give a toss about commercial concerns.

They just want to rock TF out with their Spanish guitars.

And rock TF out they most certainly do. Malcura II is 12 tracks and almost an hour’s worth of ridiculously authentic flamenco interplay, set against a kick-arse rhythm section, that is just so much fun to listen to it’s not funny.

At the same time, while the overriding vibe of the album is that of up-tempo exuberance, it also takes the listener through a bunch of different moods, colours and dynamics across the course of its length. Check out The Little Ox, for proof. Keynote track, the seven minute-plus The Ballad of the Humble Space Jockey,  also has somewhat of a restrained, melancholy tone to it as it builds nicely to its climax.

One can only imagine that this stuff would be an absolute hoot in a live setting too.

This band has truly created something unique and inspiring here. If you love flamenco and/or classical guitar, prog rock and just about anything in between, you will find much to enjoy here. Malcura II is different, but this is a good thing. Give it a try, but do so with mind open.

Band: Malcura
Album: Malcura II
Year: 2020
Genre: Instrumental flamenco prog
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia

The post Malcura – Malcura II first appeared on Metal Obsession.

The new album from Sydney instrumental guitar prodigy Plini far from outstays its welcome. At eight tracks, only two of which stretch out to longer than five minutes, and under fourty minutes of music all up, it redefines the word ‘tasteful’. But, man oh man, does it pack a shitload into its running length.

It’s difficult to nail down, or keep track of, all of the myriad musical styles Plini brings to the table here. He covers rock, pop, metal, prog, jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz (check out Pan, which at times resembles Kenny G on steroids, jazz-pop with thundering drums), blues, moments of electronica, stuff that sounds like it could have been pulled from a movie soundtrack and plenty more besides. Some of the music is light, lyrical and wistful, some of it rocks like the blazes, some of it soars to the very heavens in its cathartic musical explorations.

And, best of all, Plini and his band seem to pull it off with such ease, as if creating such inspiring sounds and amazing music is like shelling a pea for them.

I’m sure it’s not, I’m sure he/they worked extraordinarily hard on this album’s conception, construction and production, but for the people strictly enjoying the end product, it seems effortless. Almost annoyingly so. People who are this ridiculously talented are irritating…

All that aside, in a word, Impulse Voices is astonishing. It’s a wild and wonderful instrumental ride across beautiful, magical musical soundscapes, culminating in the wonder that is album closer, The Glass Bead Game. It’s an indefinable, mind-bending epic that builds and builds upon itself over the course of nine minutes and must be experienced to be believed.

At this point, I have to return to a term I used earlier in this review, ‘tasteful’. One gets the very strong feeling that Plini can shred like a maniac when the mood takes him, he just prefers not to. He prefers to let his highly progressive and imaginative compositions and his sweet and yes, tasteful lines and playing do all the talking, only bringing in the super-fast side of his playing when absolutely appropriate. And even then, he dials it up, teases you with it for a moment, leaving you wanting more, and then takes it away.

And his music is all the more compelling for it. (Don’t get me wrong, I love shredders and shred guitar, just everything in its place.)

Plini is the type of artist who obviously wants each release to be a meaningful event, a landmark in time, a bold and beautiful statement, not just the next album in his release cycle. And we, the listeners, are the ecstatic recipients of this attitude and approach.

Impulse Voices is a record you will love more with every listen, and is unquestionably one of the albums of 2020.

Band: Plini
Album: Impulse Voices
Year: 2020
Genre: Instrumental guitar prog
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia

The post Plini – Impulse Voices first appeared on Metal Obsession.

Free download of Iron Fist Issue 6 HERE

Ex-Kevelertak frontman Erlend Hjelvik is about to open the gates of Hel with his new solo project, a blackened viking heavy metal outfit in HJELVIK, who are due to release ‘Welcome to Hel’ on the 20th of November. Taking all that we love from a range of heavy genres, this record consists of a broad number of influences and inspirations but falls hard into its Nordic themes. Welcome to Hel is comprised of 10 tracks, all of which have their somewhat simplistic base – a fast tempo, heavy rhythmic sections, high pitch tweaking melodies scattered throughout and of course the harsh vocals that you came here for. Beyond their simple nature, these tracks tell a tale, a tale that Erlend himself is writing the music he wants to write, and is having a damn good time while he’s at it.

Take ‘The power ballad of Freyr’ for example, a slower paced classic heavy metal tracks with your underlying death metal undertones. Taking risks and mixing it up with tracks like this is exactly why this album is so successful, and damn fun to listen to. Hjelviks’ vocal work throughout this album is fantastic, his beastly growls add an extra element to the musicianship and are backed up with beautiful guitar tones that resonate through the whole album. Add to that if you will, the constant solo-ing and pacey melodic riffs and you realise that HJELVIK have really nailed it with this modern brand of metal they bring to the table.

The recently released single ‘Glory of Hel’ featuring High on Fire’s own Matt Pike is something else to behold. There is almost a sense of vocal duelling, a battle for the ages if you must. Pikes vocals are Godly, and their deep rough nature is balanced out by the higher screeches of Hjelvik and it creates a fantastic soundscape. This track is definitely one of the highlights to the album, and also has an incredible music video along with it that has phenomenal visuals.

Overall the musicianship, song writing, and Nordic ideologies throughout this album all hit home. Not only is this a great way to debut your solo work, it’s also the type of album to get fans wanting to get back out into a live setting – and I’m sure most people across the world already feel that way. This record gives a great sense of things to expect in the future for Erlend Hjelvik, but for now, grab a Viking horn, fill it with beer and listen to this record.

Band: HJELVIK
Album: Welcome To Hel
Year: 2020
Genre: Viking Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Origin: Norway

The post HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel first appeared on Metal Obsession.