2024 ALBUM REVIEWS
Category: Album Review
ALBUM REVIEW – THE RODS
The Rods – Rattle The Cage
Reviewed By: Tom Elke
Review Score: 8.5
The Rods are a U.S. metal band that was started in late 1979 by drummer Carl Canedy (who was the first drummer for Manowar) and lead vocalist/guitarist David “Rock” Feinstein (Ronnie James Dio’s cousin). Adding bassist Garry Bordonaro to complete the lineup, they put out six albums, one EP and one live album through the 80s. While still remaining friends and always keeping in touch (and perhaps playing a gig here and there) the band finally reunited in 2008 to play a festival in Norway (The Rods are one of those bands that has always had that “street-cred” aura attached to them.) This prompted them to record the album Vengeance in 2011 and Brotherhood of Metal in 2019.
The Rods are now joined by bassist Freddy Villano and have a new a studio album entitled Rattle The Cage, with a release date of January 19th, 2024 on Massacre Records. The album is produced by The Rods (which of course includes Carl Canedy, who has forty plus albums to his producer credits) while being mixed & mastered by Chris Collier… giving Rattle The Cage a modern sounding metal album that still possesses The Rods’ style of traditional metal music. It sounds great!
The album features ten tracks, with a running time of approximately forty-nine minutes. It’s a mixture of tempos from slower, to mid-paced, to up-tempo tracks. There’s even some organ/keyboards spots that are sprinkled in by guest musician Lonnie Park, but it does not take anything away from The Rods classic sound… and classic sounding The Rods it is! Whether it’s great songs like ‘Hell Or High Water’, ‘Play It Loud’, ‘Now And Forever’ or the excellent title track, The Rods bring the same passion and power they brought back in their early days of existence. This is an excellent album of modern-sounding, traditional metal music.
Rattle The Cage track-listing:
Now And Forever
Wolves At The Door
Cry Out Loud
Rattle The Cage
Can’t Slow Down
Metal Highways
Hell Or High Water
Play It Loud
Shockwave
Hearts Of Steel
ALBUM REVIEW – SAXON
Saxon – Hell, Fire And Damnation
Reviewed by: Tom Elke
Review Score: 8.5
Saxon has been putting out albums for a lot of years now. And after such a while, you’d think that a band would run out of ideas and material. Well that is definitely NOT the case with the mighty Saxon.
Their 24th Studio Album – Hell, Fire And Damnation has a release date of January 19th, 2024 on Silver Lining Music. It’s produced once again by Andy Sneap and lead singer Biff Byford, with Sneap handling the mixing & mastering duties as per usual. Hell, Fire And Damnation has a running time of approximately forty-two minutes, which features nine tracks along with just over a minute opening/narration to lead off the album.
There’s a new band member playing on the album. Brian Tatler of Diamond Head fame joins Doug Scarratt on guitar. They join the aforementioned Biff Byford on lead vocals along with Nigel Glockler on drums and Nibbs Carter on bass. This lineup is rock solid, and all play great on this record.
Hell, Fire And Damnation is filled with great guitar riffs on tracks such as ‘Pirates Of The Airwaves’, ‘1066’, ‘There’s Something In Roswell’ as well as the title track. Another standout throughout the album is the trading off of lead solos between Scarratt and Tatler. It’s like they’ve been playing together for a long time… it sounds great!
Biff’s vocals have not lost anything. He’s still as strong and impressive as ever, and it shows in his performance. Very well done. Saxon wouldn’t be “The Mighty Saxon” without one of the great rhythm sections in all of metal. Nibbs Carter and Nigel Glocker are in lock-step with each other, once again delivering the goods with power and precision.
All in all, Saxon gives us yet another excellent album in Hell, Fire and Damnation. There is no filler on this Record. It is quality metal music from start to finish.
Hell, Fire And Damnation releases on January 19th, 2024 via Silver Lining Music.
ALBUM REVIEW – THERION
Therion – Leviathan III
Reviewed by: Georgina Strilakos
Review Score: 8.5
Therion is one of the foremost bands in the symphonic metal scene, and it’s easy to see why. The group made a huge impact on the genre with its contribution, pushing the envelope and setting the bar higher with its massive wall of sound. The band emerged in the early 1990s when metal acts were experimenting with incorporating orchestral and symphonic elements into their music. However, Therion took the concept further by blending metal with classical and operatic elements. This is something that we kind of take for granted today, and it’s partly due to the impact of this band!
With such a significant background, a new release from Therion is always exciting. Their upcoming album, Leviathan III is yet another chapter in the band’s saga. Therion is renowned for creating concept albums and ambitious projects that go beyond the typical structure of metal albums, and this is no exception. This eclectic studio work features 11 tracks, marking the band’s progressive leanings and constant willingness to embrace new challenges while staying true to its aesthetics.
Available through Napalm Records, the album is the third installment in the “Leviathan” trilogy and perhaps the longest and most intense of the three releases. The sonic variety is truly impressive. Not only is there room for traditional metal influences and large symphonic sections, but The band also explores unique ideas, such as a the flamenco-tinged melodies of the song ‘Duende’, which are completely unexpected. The song ‘Twilight Of The Gods’ offers a brooding, doom-infused arrangement, serving as a truly ethereal and raw segment on the album.
Overall, Leviathan III denotes Therion’s willingness to evolve and experiment with its sound. With so many years under its belt, the band doesn’t need to prove anything, but it’s still eager to make steps forward and enhance the creativity of its vision.
ALBUM REVIEW: CHILDREN OF BODOM
Children Of Bodom: A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019)
Reviewed by: Jim Harrison
Review Score: 9.5
Legendary Finnish melodic death/doom metal band Children Of Bodom will release their new live recording of their last live show called, A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019). This recording is very important as not only is it the last show COB played as a band but also was prior to the untimely death of guitarist and vocalist Alexi Laiho on December 29, 2020.
Children of Bodom formed in 1998 and released a total of ten studio albums, two live albums, two EP’s, two compilation albums and one DVD in their storied career. With a huge catalog spanning over two decades they became a genre defining piece to the early 2000’s metal scene creating a fast, heavy vibe with the addition of keyboards that’s made their sound totally distinctive. Their origin of the name was derived from the Lake Bodom murders in 1960 and carries an interesting story.
The final line up upon their split in 2019 were, Alexi Laiho, vocals and lead guitar, Jaska Raatikainan drums, Henkka Seppälä bass, Jane Wirman keyboards and Daniel Freyberg rhythm guitar. Laiho and Freyberg carried on as Bodom After Midnight in 2020 up until Alexi Laiho’s death.
This live album has all their hits and incudes eighteen tracks with great audience participation and interaction.
There are so many great moments on this album and personally for myself as a huge fan I love the fact that the show starts ‘Under The Grass and Clover’ which ignites the show and really sets the tone for the cerebral assault and you can tell it gets the crowd amped up.
Some of the other highlights for me are the classic tracks ‘In Your Face’ that is such an amazing live track. ‘Shovel Knockout’ is another crowd pleaser as well is ‘Bodom Beach Terror’ that showcases Wirman’s keyboards. The ominous ‘Every Time I Die’ adds a doom sound and pounds the audience into total submission, this is one of my favourite COB songs.
Fan favourites, ‘Are You Dead Yet’ and ‘Blood Drunk’ gets the fans into a hyped frenzy. Tracks ‘Follow the Reaper’ and ‘Hate Crew Deathroll’ will please all COB fans new and old as these are hits that showcase how great this band is.
Another one of my all time favourite songs is ‘Lake Bodom’ which has a classical vibe that rips into a face melter of a track. The audience is going wild for this one and it’s so heavy with Laiho’s signature voice just ripping through this. This sounds so good live and you can feel the excitement. The last track ‘Downfall’ from their second album Hatebreeder that was released in 1999 and actually was the last track on that album. What a great way to end the album, fast and heavy.
This is a special release not only for being their last performance but acting as an ongoing memorial to Alexi Laiho’s legacy and Children of Bodom’s contribution to the metal movement. This will be a great addition to any Children of Bodom fans collection and serves as a great way to bring in some new listeners who hopefully will check out their back catalog and see how musically, vocally and lyrically talented this band is.
Definitely pick this album up and play it at eleven!
A Chapter Called Children Of Bodom (Final Show in Helsinki Ice Hall 2019) drops December 15, 2023 via Spinefarm.