Tag Archives: Symphonic Metal

State of the Art: Mississippi’s PARTHURNAX

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Mississippi.*

Parthurnax is born out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi although it might as well be out of the snow covered forests of Finland. Much like the origin, Parthurnax is a bit of a mystery. It is unclear who is behind the project. A bit of snooping gives credence to the fact is a solo project as Facebook posts use “I” in the available few. One thing that is certain however, is the fantastic instrumental music. Classic heavy metal riffs with hints of Scandinavian prog. Fans of Dragonforce, Wintersun, Eluveitie, etc. That very Eurocentric sound that goes over so well at Wacken. Continue reading →

State of the Art: North Carolina’s AMERICAN EMPIRE [EP Stream]

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Fans of old-school Epica and Within Temptation are going to lose their minds over North Carolina’s best kept secret; American Empire. North Carolina has bred some top notch metal over the years but nothing that sounds quite like this. With the exception of Kamelot, most North American symphonic metal bands just seem to be missing something. But think again, American Empire is packing some seriously fantastic Euro-sounding metal down in Durham.  Continue reading →

State of the Art: Rhode Island’s GOLDENHALL [Track Stream]

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Rhode Island.*

Rhode Island may be one of the last places that comes to mind when pondering anthemic, symphonic metal. Goldenhall, however is about to change that entirely. Since their formation in 2014 by way of numerous local bands, they have lent credence to idea that Rhode Island has been a hidden hotbed for heavy music. Started by guitarists Ryan Spahr and Greg Rosche, formerly of Condolence; it did not take long before recruiting Nico Cannella (Acerose) and Matt Young from Chaos Before Creation, on bass and drums, respectively. Goldenhall is fronted by classically trained vocalist, Jason Shealy. All of the music is recorded and produced by this independent band. Continue reading →

Review: SEVENTH WONDER – ‘Tiara’

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It has been eight years since the release of their last full length, “The Great Escape,” so “highly anticipated” is an understatement for their fifth record. The Swedish, melodic and progressive metal phenomenon, Seventh Wonder are finally ready to grace the world with their latest musical endeavor from Frontiers Music s.r.l. One one hand, eight years is quite some time. But on the other hand, vocalist Tommy Karevik joined Kamelot in 2012. Perhaps that may be the greatest reason of all for such a delay. No longer must we wait though, as “Tiara” drops on October 12th.

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State Of The Art: Florida’s CHOROSPHERE

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*

Groovy. Progressive. Symphonic. It sounds like it comes straight out of Scandinavia. However, this all comes from the brain of one man from Jacksonville, Florida. His name is Andrew Howington and his project is called Chorosphere. Howington plays every instrument, programs, writes, sings and probably gives exceptional life advice. The amount of depth and flavor in Chorosphere is akin to the orchestration done by Ayreon, Epica, Sonata Arctica and  Mayan.   Continue reading →

State Of The Art : CROWN OF SORROW [Album Stream]

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*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Georgia!

Hey there! Welcome to this week’s edition of State Of The Art, where we help rupture your virginity about the unknown and the underground. We visit Georgia this month, yes! Home of Grammy winners MASTODON, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, R.E.M. etc. It’s evident that Georgia houses some incredibly talented musicians spanning all genres of music. I normally feature thrash, death bands when my turn on this segment comes. But today, just to break this monotony I chose to feature symphonic folk metal band CROWN OF SORROW from Fayetteville. Among the very few symphonic bands like those of DEVILWRAITH, KYLE MORRISON, AMIDST THE WITHERING, ETHIRIA etc. in the state of Georgia, today’s featured band CROWN OF SORROW is really working it’s way up the ranks of Georgia’s metal scene. It is really good and satisfying to see a band bring back the lost glory of good old classical and folk metal, in an age where thrash and death metal have been enjoying the throne for a bit long.

CROWN OF SORROW is a symphonic folk metal band that has a tinge of doom metal and surplus western classical elements in it, making it feel like a fine old wine. They are a fairly young outfit having released their first demo just in 2013, which featured three songs. With the demo working out for them, they released their debut full length record in 2015 titled, ‘Exile‘. Before all of this, the band was earlier named The Blasted Heath. What we know today as CROWN OF SORROW is a reincarnation that sought life when the former burned out in 2012 after hanging in on there since 2006. Let’s take a look at CROWN OF SORROW, shall we? Continue reading →

NIGHTWISH Release Official Trailer #1 For ‘Decades’ [Video Stream]

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Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish release epic, cinematic trailer for ‘Decades,’ a painstakingly selected collection of twenty-two of the most quintessential Nightwish tracks recorded throughout the band’s history.  Available on March 9th, 2018, on Nuclear Blast Records, ‘Decades’ is more than just a greatest hits album, but rather a musical journey through some of the key moments of discovery and evolution the band has experienced since their 1996 inception until today. Continue reading →

Review of Leaves’ Eyes Spectacular “Sign of the Dragonhead”

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Leaves’ Eyes is:

Elina Siirala – Vocals

Alexander Krull – Vocals

Thorsten Bauer – Guitar/Bass

Pete Streit – Guitar

Joris Nijenhuis – Drums

Sign of the Dragonhead

Any fan of Symphonic, female-fronted Metal is intimately familiar with, now legendary, Leaves’ Eyes. Over the course of the last fourteen years, the band has released a total of six albums including Lovelorn (2004), Vinland Saga (2005), Njord (2009), Meredead (2011), Symphonies of the Night (2013) and King of Kings in late 2015. Based on a myriad of Nordic themes such as the mystical, underwater world of the mermaid, adventures of the ancient mariner, Celtic folk songs, tales of heroic women over the course of mankind’s existence and, most recently a concept album revolving around the first king of Norway, Leaves’ Eyes has carved their epic status in stone and set a firm foundation for the entire Symphonic sub-genre of Metal. By April 2016, Finnish vocalist Elina Siirala replaced long-standing front-woman Liv Kristine amid much drama and controversy. Fans from all over the world held their collective breaths as the first act of the band played out to its close. Once Elina proved herself at Hammersonic in Jakarta, Indonesia, Metal Female Voices, Wave Gotik, Treffen, Masters of Symphonic Metal, Full Metal Cruise and many other, fans breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Elina had what it takes to carry the standard. This should come as no surprise since Liv had a hand in choosing her replacement. Last year, Leaves’ Eyes ventured on their most bold world tour yet, hitting Europe, Asia, North America and South America; even being joined by one of my favorite bands, Sabaton, among many others and selling out shows throughout. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of seeing Leaves’ Eyes live but are said to have “shows [that are] are spectacular events featuring breathtaking stage sets like a Viking ship or the unforgettable ‘Swords in the Stone’ monument.”

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ESHTADUR – ‘Mother Gray’ [Album Review]

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Symphonic death metal holds a special place in my heart because it has so much atmosphere to it. It sets a mood that other genres can’t quite match. Eshtadur proves just that in their latest offering entitled ‘Mother Gray’ set to release September 8, on Bleeding Music Records.

Eshtadur was established in the fall of 2005 in Periera Colombia. They have been making waves since the beginning. They have toured through Colombia, Peru and Mexico and are currently preparing their first ever US tour dates! (I’ll be looking out for those!) Eshtadur has shared the stage with acts such as Vader and Cradle Of Filth and worked with artists such as Bjorn Strid (Soilwork), Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry) & Allan Marcus (Arecibo) these guys are clearly getting attention that is well deserved in my book! Eshtadur is Jorg August – Vocals & Guitars, Mauro Marin – Drums, Sebas Patiño – Guitars and Victor Valencia – Bass Guitar. Continue reading →

Watch GONE IN APRIL’s WW2 Inspired New Music Video Feat. TESTAMENT/DEATH Bassist Steve Di Giorgio

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GONE IN APRIL, the symphonic melodic death metal ensemble from Canada-USA, releases a WW II inspired music video for ‘As Hope Welcomes Death‘, filmed and edited by Norwegian artist Thomas Mortveit. The song ‘As Hope Welcomes Death‘ is taken from the band’s sophomore album ‘Threads of Existence‘, recorded at WaveTransform Studio, USA.

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