JUSIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C
HERMAN FRANK / LOYAL TO NONE
If the name Herman Frank doesn’t mean anything to you, then
you are obviously not a fan of Accept, Victory or the lesser know Moon Doc and I
have one thing to say to you, WHY NOT?
Herman was the driving force (as far the guitar is
concerned) behind all the bands and he is synonymous with some fantastic,
classic riffs and guitar licks that are totally stunning, just listen to the
opening track “Moon II” and tell me that your not blown away by how god this
track is and the best thing about it is that its not on its own as “7 Stars”,
the epic powerful, epic “Heal Me” or “Kill The King” (not a Dio cover) prove. The other thing is that ex Accept
Drummer Stefan Schwarzmann is with him and dose a
dammed fine job as dose vocalist Jiotis Parcharidis, who; I haven’t come across before but his
powerful vocal style fits the songs brilliantly, sounding a bit like Coverdale with a touch of Lyn Turner, add to this the bass
talents of ex Running Wild man Peter Pichl and you
have a classic album that deserves your attention.
This is an absolutely stunning return for Herman Frank and
he has a very fine band that I’m sure will kick some serious ass live, also
listen out for; “Hero”, “Bastard Legions” & “Welcome To Hell” all deserving
of you attention and you can be sure I will be playing this album to death on my
HFM show, I look forward to the next one.
WEBSITE http://www.hermanfrank.com/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 46 mins + 10 KILLER
TRACKS
IMPELLITTERI / WICKED
MAIDEN
Chris Imellitteri came onto the
scene in the late 1980’s along with Alex Masi, Vinnie Moore and Joe Satriani and
was one of the new Guitar shredders but Impellitteri
was different, it was a band with real songs not just instrumentals showing how
good a guitarist he was and the fact that Graham Bonnett was the vocalist on the first album gives you an
idea of how good the songs are.
The songs on this latest album are just as good and they
still sound Rainbow like and that’s probably why Bonnett got involved in the first one, 20 years later the
band still kick ass, one listen to the magnificent “Eyes Of An Angel” will have
you singing along in no time and will show you just how good they are, this song
is easily as good as “I Surrender” and it doesn’t stop there, check out the
superb “Weapons Of Mass Distortion”, “Last Of A Dying Breed”, “Wicked Maiden” or
“Garden Of Eden”, all of which are fantastic Melodic commercial rock with Rob
Rock’s vocal talents surfing the neo-classical inspired guitar riffs of Chris Impellitteri and some very good guitar, keyboard
interplay. As always Chris’s guitar
licks are fluid, melodic, creative but never overpowering the
songs.
If you don’t know of Impellitteri
this album is a very fine place to start and if, like me you love Rainbow, Malmsteen or Axel Rudi Pell this CD will really hit the spot
and that why it gets the old Justin Case Seal of
approval.
WEBSITE http://www.impellitterifanclub.info/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 43 mins + 10 RIFFTASTIC
TRAKS
IXXI / ELECT THE DEAD
If you wondering how to pronounce the bands name its
actually roman numeral for 9-11, that aside this Swedish Black Metal band
actually sound more Norwegian to my ears and comparisons with Satyricon’s
current release have been made and not too far off the mark, throw in a bit of
old Mayhem and maybe a touch of Darkthrone and you have a pretty good idea of
what they sound like.
This is the bands 3rd album and is a slower more
deliberate paced affair and makes it sound different to much of the bands peers,
as the vocal style of Totalscorn which is quite unique and very effective. What makes the band stand out for me is
their music, Black Metal can be quite conservative and anyone who is adventurous
to try and change things usually meets with great scorn but their brand of Black
N Roll really does help the songs sound different and gives them a new
dimension, check out “Sinrush”, “Western Plagues” or “Beyond The Rapture” for a
prime examples or the aptly named “Enthusiasm” which the band display throughout
this fine CD.
If Black Metal is not your usual fare but you love Metal
then this album could well be to your tastes and if you already love the genre
then I’m preaching to the converted, so just go and buy it or listen to my HFM
shows where you will definitely hear at least one
track.
WEBSITE http://www.myspace.com/ixxiofficial
& http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/
TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 55 mins + 11 TRACKS