Reviews

PANIC ROOM..'VISIONARY POSITION'

(Voiceprint) Reviewed 30th March 2008

Panic Room is a new band featuring current and ex members of Karnataka, Mostly Autumn, and Fish's band, and although the music does have progressive elements, it will appeal to a wider audience I would have thought. Their debut cd 'Visionary Position' combines, rock, folk, jazz and world music influences, being another impressive release, that can be found at the softer end of the rock spectrum. And I like this! It kicks off with the 8+ minute ultra catchy 'Elektra City'. It even changes pace midway, to end with a nice bluesy piano interlude to captivate your musical taste buds even further. Anne-Marie Helder (ex Karnataka) is an awesome vocalist, and a lot of the music here could cross over into the mainstream if given the proper support. Okay, it is not metal, but this is good stuff to chill out after a hard day at the office. Second track in, 'Endgame (Speed Of Life)' is another awesome epic running in at over 10 mins. But this cd never becomes boring. We have 8 tracks on offer here, with a running time of 65 minutes. Other highlights are 'Reborn', 'Apocalypstick' and the beautifully titled and rather haunting ' I Wonder What's Keeping My Truelove Tonight'. Basically though, the whole album offers a true sonic experience, and is worthy of ones attention, more so for fans who prefer the softer end of the genre. There is a special edition of this album that can be found at the band's web site, www.panicroom.org.uk. We have posted some tour dates on our tour dates page aswell. But to summarise this release, just buy it! 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PANIC ROOM..'SATELLITE'

(Firefly Music Ltd) Reviewed 1st January 2010

'Satellite' is the awesome new album from UK rock band Panic Room. Basically recorded over a two week 'live studio session' period, the album is full of great hooks and melodies, coupled of course with the powerful vocals of front lady Anne-Marie Helder. I was highly impressed with their debut album, 'Visionary Position' that was reviewed here back in March 2008, and the more commercial sounding 'Satellite' to me seems a step in the right direction. 'Freedom To Breathe' kicks off proceedings offering great vocals and great musicanship. 'Picking Up Knives' (one of my faves on the album) carries on the great work, and I do love Anne-Marie's vocals. Great stuff. 'I Am A Cat' is a little light hearted ditty me thinks, while in general, the album contains highlights a plenty - the funk metal sound on 'Black Noise', the catchy 'Into The Fire' and the anthemic sounding awesome title track as examples. I also like the rocky 'Dark Star' (great gothy church organ sound!). With the right promotion, 'Satellite' surely should break the band to a wider audience. The promotional copy kindly sent to me by Jonathan Edwards from the band, also has an additional EP, and that in itself makes this package even more worthwhile. All said and done, this is a cool release (over 80 mins of music with the EP) and what a great start to 2010. 'Satellite' gets released 25th January, but while you are waiting, check out www.myspace.com/panicroomuk. 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PARAMORE..'BRAND NEW EYES'

(Atlantic Records) Reviewed 30th September 2009

One minute I am reviewing an album by established old hands Theatre of Tragedy, and then next by new kids on the block Paramore. Fronted by Hayley Williams, Paramore seem so young (probably cos I am getting old), but they are so professional. 'Brand New Eyes' sees the band following their tried and trusted formula - well if it ain't broken, why fix it? And to be honest, I quite like Hayley's vocals for some reason. Imagine a kinda Avril crossed with Kelly then given a little bit of umphhh! This record is a very good slab of punk/pop/rock. Me thinks that sums it up. Fave tracks. Well, that will be for you, the potential listener to decide. 'Brand New Eyes' can be bought at your typical high street cd store for under a tenner, so go and buy. This band have the world at their feet. Awesome...8.5/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PASSIONWORKS..'BLUEPLAY'

(Golden Core Import) Reviewed 28th Sept 2007

Passionworks is fronted by Harry (Harriet) Hagglund and come from Finland. And there is some very good stuff coming from that neck of the woods. And this cd is no exception. Harriet it seems is not just a pretty face. She is also involved in the songwriting, the production and even keyboards on some tracks too. This is a strong melodic release. I notice that this cd is being labelled as female fronted gothic rock. Okay, there are subtle similarities to a female fronted HIM in places. However, let's forget the word gothic here. Too many female fronted acts get shoved into the gothic stable, by virtue of the fact they are female fronted. I would call this cd female fronted melodic rock. And yep, I do like it, some good material here. Check out the tracks 'Flying', the title track 'Blue Play', 'The Swallow', 'Liar', the single 'Falling' and final track 'Sad' as proof of the pudding. This is a well recommended release. It took a time to reach us here, but it was worth the wait. 8/10 (Reviewed by Dave).

THE PENNIES..'THIS WORLD UNKNOWN'

(Independent Release) Reviewed 26th July 2007

This mini cd by The Pennies has taken me totally by storm. The story goes like this. I received a friends request on our myspace site from an unknown band (to me anyway) called The Pennies. I accept, go to their page at http://www.myspace.com/thepennies and listen to what they have on offer. I promptly order this cd. 5 tracks and nearly 30 mins of music. Penny sounds a little like Dido to my ears, particularly on 'Shine Within Sadness'. And that is not a bad thing. In-fact Penny has one hell of a voice. I like the whole of this cd. It's rock, laid back but not too laid back. I reckon given the right exposure, The Pennies would go down well here in the UK. Listening to the cd, I can imagine myself at a rain soaked Glastonbury, with The Pennies on stage. The independent music scene has some awesome artists if you look. PLEASE support this band. 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave).

KATY PERRY..'ONE OF THE BOYS'

(Capitol Records) Reviewed 19th January 2009

I knew little about Katy Perry until she put in a couple of appearances on UK television a few weeks ago. And I tell you what, she ain't bad - the music that is. Mind you, she is okay too, but I digress! 'One of the Boys' is possibly one for the Avril Lavigne or Pink fans, and full of potential hit singles. It's not metal I admit, but it is catchy, Katy does sorta rock, with the music being described (by myself) as playground music, appealing to the kids and teens out there. Anyhow, she has made it onto the Ravenheart Music site, so what about the music on offer. The title track is as catchy as hell, as is most of the stuff on offer here. Check out 'I Kissed A Girl', 'Waking Up In Vegas', 'Hot n Cold' and 'Self Inflicted'. And she can slow it down too with the awesome 'Thinking Of You' and the equally cool 'Lost'. My fellow Ravenheart Trooper Aimee has pulled my leg about reviewing this, but I quite like this release..not bad, not bad at all! 7.5/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PETRA METAL QUEEN..'AMALGA'

(Independent Release) Reviewed 15th October 2009

I kinda know Petra and I have known about her musical prowess possibly as long as Ravenheart Music has been going. And she is actually based in Warwickshire in the heart of England, not too far from Ravenheart Towers. She has a Batchelor of Art Honours Degree from De Montford University, Master of Arts Degree from The University of Warwick, amongst others, so she ain't stupid. Apart from other musical projects in the past, she has also been involved with a Country Rock Band and an Industrial Metal Band, so she is very talented. She is also involved with various musical projects (four!) at this current moment in time. And it is an amalgamation of those musical projects that appear on this album. Hence the title 'Amalga'. I may be was a little concerned at first that this record may lack cohesion, being a mix of those aforementioned projects, but to be honest, those concerns soon evaporated away. I like this offering to be honest, being a mix of Gothic Metal, Symphonic Metal, together with a little Progressive and Power Metal thrown in for good measure. To my ears, the best track on this little opus is the opener 'Awake In Dreamland' which reminds me initially of Sharon Den Adel and features on this album as part of Petra's ATHENIA project. But this must not distract from the rest of this cd, as overall, I feel this is a very good effort. There are some good musicians involved aswell. Oh and I nearly forgot, a good cover of David Bowie's 'Heroes' as part of Petra's PETRALVAR project. To summarise. I admire Petra - she is a very hard working musician who has determination to succeed, and you know what, she will on this showing. I am not sure if the album is available at the moment, but I suggest that anybody into the aforementioned styles goes to cdbaby.com and picks up a copy when it becomes available and supports this lass. It will be worth it. Cool! 8.5/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PROJECT CREATION..'DAWN OF PYTHER'

(ProgRock Records) Reviewed 4th September 2008

I have just had the honour to review the Factory Of Dreams opus 'Poles'. Now let's review another album from the Project Creation camp. 'Dawn Of Pyther' is another awesome cd from Hugo Flores and co here, featuring male vox by Paulo Pacheco, with Dubai based Zara Quiroga as the female vocalist on this epic release. It is obvious the extremely talented Hugo is a very busy musician aswell. But no matter how busy this awesome guy is, he always has the time to speak with me via email. This is another record that has left me speechless. It is more prog rock than 'Poles', but is very majestic, epic and atmospheric in places. Just check out 'Flying Thoughts' and the heavier 'Growing Feeling' for confirmation of this! This album has everything. Not strictly female fronted as such, but Zara's angelic vocals are captivating when they do appear. We have percussion, woodwind, synths, guitar and instrumental passages amongst other things on this 76+ minute epic release. All I am gonna say is just buy it, and when you have it, listen to it through headphones! Great stuff and I love it!! 9/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PYTHIA..'SARAH (BURY HER)'

(Goldaxe2) Reviewed 26th August 2009

This little platter is awesome, and Pythia, fronted by Mediaevalbaebe Emily Alice Ovenden are British!! This is a review of their single that is a taster for their new album, 'Beneath The Veiled Embrace', that will hit us in October. If the full length album is gonna be anything like what is on offer here, then we should prepare ourselves. Because it seems we have a band that will challenge the femme scene of mainland Europe, and could well come out winners. Three tracks on offer, and 'Sarah (Bury Her)' the single sends shivers down my spine. This track is totally 100% mind blowing, and has to be a contender for symphonic metal single of the year..no kidding. Second track, the Gary Moore song 'Thunder Rising' is equally as awesome. There is also an acoustic song for our enjoyment, 'Tristan'. When the album gets released, it is a must buy. Meanwhile, pop to their myspace www.myspace.com/pythiamusic, check them out and buy this, and pre order 'Beneath The Veiled Embrace' while you are there too. 9.5/10 (Reviewed by Dave)

PYTHIA..'BENEATH THE VEILED EMBRACE'

(Genepool/Universal) Reviewed 16th September 2009

Here we have it. We in the UK at last have a band in the Gothic Power Metal Genre, that not only can compete with the best that the European mainland has to throw at us, we have a band that could very easily knock that competition well and truly out of site! That band is called Pythia. Fronted by the gorgeous Mediaeval Babe, Emily Alice Ovenden, we have an album here that is immensely awesome in every respect. I am really lost for words to describe this. This little opus kicks off with the Power Metal Anthem 'Sweet Cantation', which will blow your mind, and that is just track one. Second track (the single), the awesome, melodic and to my ears the hideously catchy 'Sarah (Bury Her)' will be humming around in your head for hours afterwards. There are further Power Metal Anthems on offer here such as 'My Pale Prince' and 'Eternal Darkness' . And other faves of mine include 'What You Wish For', 'Oedipus', 'Army of the Damned' (feat Brian Blessed) and the catchy 'No Compromise', but what I must say is that every track on 'Beneath The Veiled Embrace' is a gem. If you love Nightwish (Tarja era - although not so operatic as Tarja) with loadsa balls - then this is a must buy. I will say no more except I love it!..9.5/10 (Reviewed by Dave)