Review: Avatar, "Hunter Gatherer"

It’s not often these days that I’m a latecomer to a band. All the music in the world is at my fingertips, and I’m pretty much willing to give anything at least one listen. But somehow, I missed the boat on Avatar.

Back in my newspaper days, I remember them playing a local club. I checked them out, thought it wasn’t my cup of tea, and moved on. I’m not sure what album that was or what songs I listened to, but having spent the past couple of weeks catching up on their catalog, I feel a little silly.

The song that sent me down the Avatar rabbit hole was “Child” from their latest release Hunter Gatherer. I’m not sure what made me click on it after steadfastly ignoring the band for years, but I’m glad that I did.

The super-creepy little ditty about a young child whose mother has been buried alive bounces between a manic, showtune-like verse and a bashing, screaming bridge that leads to an infectious chorus melody straight out of a horror movie – the good kind. It was love at first listen for me, and after running through the song a few times, I had to hear the rest of the record.

Review: Amaranthe, "Manifest"

I always imagine what the conversation with friends might have been like when Amaranthe decided to get together.

Friend: So are you guys going to be a pop act, a prog metal outfit or a melodic death metal band?

Amaranthe: Yes.

The band has made a decade-long career out of mixing things that shouldn’t go together, and their sixth album, Manifest, continues the tradition. The vocal trio of Elize Ryd, Nils Molin and Henrik Englund Wilhelmsson all give the music a different perspective. Ryd brings the pop hooks and looks, Molin delivers the power and mystery, and Wilhelmsson hammers it home with his death-style growls. Guitarist and primary composer Olof Morck plays them all masterfully in an irresistible genre-blending brand of metal.

Review: Archon Angel, "Fallen"

When I first heard the title track to Archon Angel’s Fallen back in December, this immediately became one of my most anticipated albums of the year.

“Fallen” could have fit perfectly on Savatage’s Edge of Thorns album, giving me hope for something that I’ve been wanting for years: New music from one of my favorite bands, or about as close as we’re going to get anyway. I’ve long since given up hope that we’ll ever get a reunion or another record from Savatage. Founder/vocalist Jon Oliva has had health issues in recent years and hasn’t released any new music since his 2013 solo project, Raise the Curtain. I also think producer Paul O’Neill’s death a few years ago probably put those possibilities to rest.

Still, Fallen proves that at least one former member wants to keep the sound alive: Zak Stevens, who took over vocal duties for the band when Oliva moved into the background in the early 1990s, has put together a group of talented musicians here and delivered something that, while not quite a Savatage record, is certainly an homage to his former band.

Review: Marko Hietala, "Pyre of the Black Heart"

Overview

Nightwish bassist/vocalist Marko Hietala gives us the English version of his 2019 Finnish release, Mustan Sydamen Rovio, and it's an interesting mix of classic hard rock sounds and the more folky and symphonic side of his main band.

What's Hot?

We already know that Hietala is an incredible songwriter, and that's on full display on Pyre of the Black Heart, both in composition and lyrics. Most of the songs here delve for lyrical depth, but I also enjoy that he's not afraid to have a little juvenile fun in his songwriting, as evidenced by the line in "Stones" where he sings "am I the butt of their constant crack?" There are also some interesting choices here and there on the album, like the synth-heavy sound of "Star, Sand and Shadow" which probably ends up closer to Nightwish than just about anything else here. But I really like when he just goes for the straight-up rock. "Death March for Freedom" is one of my most-played songs of the young year, mixing old-school, Deep Purple-style hard rock with some folky melodies. Hietala's vocals remain just as incredible, dark and powerful as fans of Nightwish and the many other bands that he's worked with would expect.

Review: Annihilator, "Ballistic, Sadistic"

Be careful what you wish for: For years, I’ve wanted Jeff Waters to drop the ballads and musical experiments and just deliver a blazing, no compromise thrash record with Annihilator. Ballistic, Sadistic does exactly that.

When I heard album opener “Armed to the Teeth” a month or so ago, I got excited. Here was everything that I’d wanted from the band for a long time – an absolute ripper of a riff, blazing lead work from Waters and a nice breakdown. There was no nonsense, no playing around with other genres. It sounded like the Annihilator I fell in love with around 30 years ago.

That follows through on the other nine songs on Ballistic, Sadistic, dare I say, perhaps a bit too much. At the risk of turning myself into a huge hypocrite after begging Jeff Waters to return to this sound, the new Annihilator album does suffer, at times, from a lack of variety. From the very beginning, it jumps on top of you and starts pummeling like the girl with the bat from the “Armed to the Teeth” video, and it doesn’t give you a chance to catch your breath.